Meet Buthelezi the artist who sees beauty in waste

For most of us, our normal reaction to waste of any sort is to hold our breath and walk by as fast as we possibly can well most of us except Mbongeni Buthelezi.

        Meet Mbongeni Buthelezi, an artist from South Africa, has shunned paint in favor
of plastic. He melts discarded plastic bags and uses the molten material to
produce stunning works of art. The 49-year-old has been working with the
unique medium for the past 23 years, ever since he graduated from art
school.

        Buthelezi said he decided to work with plastic because he wanted to stand
out, and this was an innovative, original idea to do that. “With watercolor
and other mediums that I have experimented with in the past, I felt that
I’m hitting the ceiling,” he told Euronews . “I’m not growing anymore. I
wanted to be noticed and I wanted to catch attention, because I knew also
that I’m moving into a career where you have to be really special to be
able to even make a living out of it.”

      According to Buthelezi, his chosen medium also serves as a metaphor for
life. “I collect rubbish and create something beautiful from it,” he wrote on
his website. “That’s what we can do with ourselves and our lives.”

      Buthelezi’s introduction to plastic happened during a workshop he attended
with a Swiss artist who used plastic as a canvas. Inspired by the idea, he
started to think of how cheap and readily available plastic is, and how it
could be used not only as a canvas, but also as paint. So he collected
plastic and started experimenting with a heat gun, applying the melted
material onto a black plastic background. He slowly worked on improving
his technique, and eventually became an expert at painting with plastics.
He calls his creation process simple and haphazard, but believes that the
final pieces speak for themselves. “I’m interested in finding the details in
the painting, but also, as you step away from the piece it really comes
together,” he told BBC news.

        He also called himself “a mirror for the
society I live in, and I want to make a meaningful impact on that society.”
In his paintings, Buthelezi depicts a variety of subjects – everyday scenes,
African history, human portraits, and abstract images. He also makes bold
statements about social and environmental issues. In one painting, he’s
used purple and orange soft drink labels to paint the clothes worn by
women chatting on a street corner. He wants the rough texture of the
plastic to represent the difficulties of life in South Africa’s townships. He
also has a series of black-and-white portraits of children playing – which
is important to him because his own childhood was more about hard work
and independence.

      According to Buthelezi, he is the only artist who works with plastic. He
likes that, because an external point of reference could mess with his
originality. But he also says that melted plastic is an easy medium to work
with, especially for those who may not be able to afford traditional art
supplies. “Anyone can gather plastic waste and start painting, and
construct something out of nothing,” he said.

         Buthelezi’s works have been well received by critics and art lovers alike. In
2010, online magazine Live Out Loud said his art “reflects humanity’s
often detrimental impact on the environment, but his original use of
discarded objects to depict an often forgotten group of people truly sets
him apart.” His paintings have been exhibited in South Africa, as well as
Germany, the US, and Holland, for years. To check out more of his work,
you can visit his website: http://www.mbongeni-buthelezi.com/

January 16th 2014

Everybody has their own story to tell. Your life is like a book that
you don't ever get to put down. So make it interesting. ~Brian &
Johnathan, www.thegaybeards.com

Dear Diary,
         I'm in such a dilemma and whats more I feel so guilty. Earlier today I think I mistakenly let my roommates laptop slip to the ground when I was trying to get stuff out of the ward rope. I thought I held it down well but maybe i didn't do it well or I wasn't fast enough.

        Now the laptop in question has a little screen malfunction and what if it gets worse what do I do? do I tell her that I am responsible for the mishap or do I just keep mum? I am hoping really hoping that this problem doesn't get any worse because  I did be in a major fix.

         I can put a name to the way I feel today but I know it starts with the word sad :((

                                               Night diary thanks for being such a good listener.

January 14th 2014

Dear Diary,
       
        Been a long time since I kept an actual journal, over a year to be exact. I never got around to getting one until Glory gave me this as a gift. Dear Glory bless her heart she's such a nice a friend it's too bad that i'm not appreciative of her.

       So much has happened in the last year, I have so much to be thankful for. A year ago I would never have believed my life would be the way it is now. God has really been merciful its not like I have everything I want but for what I have I am thankful.

        By now I ought to be a graduate, I really wanted to finish school before I clocked 21 but I guess life had other plans. Some things have changed and some things have not. I guess I have become more mature, some people would say good looking,some will say more of a shrew and some will say just different.

       Change is constant I believe I will keep changing this year for instance I have decided to start wearing trousers. My parents would have a conniption if they heard that but it's my life, it's my choice, it's what I've always wanted to do. I'm not harming anybody by doing it i'm just trying to make myself happy.

       I'm 21 and all my life I've tried to please my parents, I've put their wishes and desires above mine time and time again. This year, I have decided to please myself, I want to experience life on the other side. I have no intention of having of having sex until i'm married so that is out of the question. But I think I want to alcohol just for the experience i'm thinking of trying out red and exotic cocktails, no cheap stuff for me :))

      Like I said some things have changed and some things haven't like my fascination with C* or do I call it an obsession. I decided to excommunicate myself from him in October 2012 believe me it's one of the hardest things I've had to do I just had to.

      This year, I want to get into a serious relationship I want to date someone who would make me believe everything I ever felt for * was a fluke.

       I just want to forget him, that's why I cant wait to serve I feel like i'm going to meet someone who would change my life forever.
                .......................................I just cant wait to really fall in love.

There are Parents, and then there are parents

Next time when you are resenting your parents because they molly coddle you so much that you find it very stifling I did recommend that you remember Sofia's story so that you can understand that you have had it lucky.

           While most parents punish kids by sending them to their room, Sofia
Petrova’s mother went a little further than that – she exiled her
misbehaving daughter to another country. The 18-year-old hasn’t been
home in three years; her mother hasn’t permitted her to return in spite of
repeated apologies and pleas.

So how does a parent actually convince a 15-year-old high school
freshman to board a plane to Siberia? Well, it turns out that Sofia was
tricked. Her mother and stepfather told her that they were sending her on
a three-week vacation to visit her biological father for the first time. But
when Sofia reached Novosibirsk city, she realised the chilling truth – there
was no return ticket.

That’s when her mother and stepfather informed her that she was actually
being ‘punished’ for her typical teenager behavior – flunking school,
running away from home and stealing money. She was to remain in Siberia
with her father until she learned to change her ways. Sofia was pretty
much helpless; although she grew up in the US, she was born in Siberia
and had a Russian passport. So she needed her mother’s consent to
return.

Sofia’s mother, Natalia Roberts, is a Soviet-born US citizen with an
American husband, Jim Roberts. The couple had pretty much abandoned
Sofia in a country that was alien to her, with a man she barely knew. To
make matters worse, Sofia’s birth father turned out to be a drunk who
often beat her up and abused her. She had no money and was forced to
work at a local hostel in order to cover her expenses.

Poor Sofia made repeated pleas to her family back in the US, begging them
to bring her back. “I want to come home,” she wrote in a letter to her
mother last year. “To come back to you. I ask you one more time, please
take me back. Please find it in your heart to forgive my mistakes that I
made as a pre-teen. You are the only family that I have. I need you.”

In spite of those heart-wrenching words, Natalia still couldn’t bring herself
to forgive Sofia. The girl ended up severely depressed and had to flee to a
local children’s center to escape her poor living conditions. She even tried
to take her own life at one point. Meanwhile, her friends in the US caught
wind of what was happening to her and organised protests and campaigns
in her favor. But there wasn’t much they could do to help her return.
The local media began to cover the story extensively, and a Facebook page
was set up where Sofia posted updates about her condition. She also
issued frequent pleas on social media for her family to take her back. “I
want to graduate from an American high school (and) I want to do it
quickly, to finish within two years,” she wrote.

In response, her stepfather posted a very harsh message: “Sofia, from the
time that you went to Russia, we have told you that it will be very simple
for you to return. Recognise that the path you were going down would end
badly for you and try to change it. That’s all. We told you that trying other
ways would not work for you. You have not tried the one thing that will
bring you back, but you continue to try others.” It isn’t clear what exactly
he was referring to, as Sofia seems to have apologised for her past
mistakes.

But luck was eventually on Sofia’s side as her strange story took an even
more bizarre twist. With the help of a few friends, she managed to track
down her mother’s ex-boyfriend Farid Soulimani, who practically raised her
as a child. In fact, she had actually believed that he was her father until
the age of 13. However, they had lost contact for over six years after he
had a bad breakup with her mother.

When Soulimani heard of Sofia’s struggles, he was heartbroken. While he
still lives in the US, he immediately arranged for her to visit his family in
Morocco and flew there himself to meet with her. “It’s not a new family,”
Sofia said. “I remember my grandma (presumably Soulimani’s mother)
from when I was a little girl and she had come to visit. It was nice to see
a familiar face.

Under her grandmother’s care, Sofia grew stronger and happier within a
month’s time. But when she returned to her father’s home in Siberia, she
found that she had lost her job and her boyfriend had dumped her. She
was miserable once again, and that’s when she decided to make Morocco
her permanent home. “Everyone is just so loving here,” she said. “It’s nice
to wake up every morning to hugs and kisses.”

Now that she’s 18, Sofia has moved to Casablanca, and has decided to
adopt Farid’s last name. She is studying French in an attempt to integrate
into society, and is also in the process of getting her official
documentation completed to allow her to stay in Morocco indefinitely, so
that she never has to return to Siberia.

Sofia now plans to write a tell-all book where she will reveal everything
that she has faced in the past three years. “There are many things I never
shared and many secrets that I kept. All of this is going to be included in
my book,” she said. “It goes into details about my relationship with my
mom, biological father, and men that have been in my life. People know my
story, but they only know a little part of it.”

When Sofia made the announcement about the book on Facebook, she
once again invited her mother’s wrath. After blasting her for not keeping
the details of her life private, Natalia wrote: “I wish you all the best and I
forgive you for bringing so much pain to my family and me.”
In reply, Sofia refused to apologise for wanting to tell her tale: “I’m not
asking for your forgiveness though. Nothing I did was worth three-and-a-
half years of the misery I was put through. Shame on you.”

It has now been several months since Sofia contacted her mom, and she
isn’t sure if she is even aware of her move to Morocco. “She is no longer a
part of my life, I’ve moved on,” she said. But she still hopes to return to
the United States, where she has a sister. She is working with an
immigration attorney on various options.

“I haven’t given up hope,” she said. “I would love to be able to rebuild a
bond with my sister. I don’t know if that would be possible but it’s
something that I dream of.”

Uncanny resemblance between Saint West and Uriah Bush

Besides the fact that they both have unusual names, mothers of Armenian descent, and *cough* *cough* A daddy knows a mummy from way back, both boys also share an uncanny resemblance they could even easily pass for brothers. The first is a picture of a sleeping Saint in white and next is a picture of a sleeping Uriah, both boys are so cute.

Just a dash of dopamine

         A boy was dying and they all just stood there taking pictures, making videos. A boy was bleeding to death, struggling with everything he had for a life that was ebbing away and not one soul lifted a finger they were all more concerned about getting a million likes on Facebook, they wanted to be the one who shared that content that got viral.

         Does the above scenario seem familiar? oh yes it does and if anything it makes you feel slightly uncomfortable because that could have easily been you playing director and film maker from someone's sad story.

          In the past we have seen a lot of videos like this filled with gore and images that our worst nightmares are made of. We saw it in the Aluu four which we watched with our blood running cold, our arms filled with giant goose bumps and our reactions ranging from Chineke! Allah! Jesus have mercy! or whatever it was we said at that time. That incident was years ago and if we thought that was going to be the most gruesome thing we will ever see on the social media we have certainly been proved wrong.

        I cant count the number of amateur videos I have seen on the web since the Aluu four each one scarier and more frightful than the last. The most recent I have seen is the story of the lady from Uganda that was starved and treated in the most inhumane way possible by a boyfriend for eight long months. In this video just like every other viral content I have seen shows people including a uniformed woman taking pictures and making videos of an extremely vulnerable woman who she was obligated to protect.

      This recurring behaviour of feeding on people's vulnerability, pain and struggle with the aid of affordable technology and the internet for the motive of popularity begs the question why?

       Blame it on the dopamine

   Researchers at UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience discovered that a
region in the midbrain, which is responsible for regulating our motivation and
reward-processing, responds better to novelty than to the familiar. When the
brain discovers a novel idea, it releases a reward (dopamine) that inspires us
to go exploring for more. The major behaviours dopamine affects are movement, pleasure and motivation. When dopamine is released it gives one the feeling of pleasure or satisfaction like in this case sharing content on the social media that will feed peoples curiosity and amusement at the expense of the subject who is being exploited. These feelings become desired  and the person will grow a desire for the satisfaction to satisfy that desire, the person will repeat behaviours that cause the release of dopamine.

     Getting your fix this time not cocaine but a million likes on Facebook at the expense of that girl who is getting brutally raped, that man who is getting jungle justice for petty theft or that woman being domestically abused isn't worth the rush of dopamine.

        

How not to be a worthless slug

       The cosiest place in world is your warm bed, you are completely unfazed about new viruses like the zika or world problems like terrorism. When you hear this stories you say to your self "whats the point fretting, we are all going to die any way. So you stay in your very warm bed with dirty ruffled sheets, the days carb and fat induced meal seats on a table so dusty it rivals the sahara just across the room. You think about your not so pleasant life and you give a deep sigh, you think about your friends and how their lives are so put together and perhaps you compare their picture perfect lives to your dreary existence and then for the thousand time that day, you give a loud sigh just before you drift into another peaceful sleep with the words a little sleep, a little slumber a little folding of hands to sleep... echoing again and again in your head.

          Nobody understands you or your ideas, you think you where supposed to be born in a different time may be in that time people would have appreciated your writing or your music. At social gatherings you tell people that you are a writer and when they show interest in seeing your work you say you have a writers block in fact you have had it for the last five years and so you really haven't put any work out there.

        When you lay on your couch which is your second favourite place in the world you watch the news just so you can criticize the government. If you had the opportunity to be in power you tell yourself that you know you would have done way better than the government. So there you go, sighing yet again and infusing an occasional angry diatribe, on your creaking couch.

         You always have some entitled opinion about people's lives whether you are asked or not. You feel you should have a claim to their lives because everyday you spend a questionable number of time going about their business(since you don't have one of yours) and trying to know what goes in their lives.

      If this character sounds like you then I'm sorry to break it to you but you are a worthless slug who is cut out for a life of mediocrity. Its time you re-evaluated your life, got new goals and have a paradigm shift of the kind of person you want to be.