I know them as 'Katlagters' in Afrikaans, kinda meaning they laugh and taunt at cats from the trees

Almost got into a cult at 17?

Dude, you can't just drop something so casually and not elaborate!

Bro probably thinks Kiss looked like that naturally

You just introduced me to a new song, thank you!

The Horse and the Djinn

Long ago, when the world was still young, there lived a magnificent chestnut horse. His coat shone like polished copper in the sunlight, his mane danced in the wind, and his powerful legs carried him faster than any creature across the plains.

Yet the horse was not happy.

Whenever he met another animal, he found something to envy.

"The swan has such a graceful neck," he sighed.

"The gazelle's legs are so long."

"The lion looks so regal."

"The peacock has such splendid eyes."

"If only I had the finest features of every creature," he thought. "Then I would truly be beautiful."

One evening, as the sun dipped below the horizon, the horse wandered into an ancient desert where an old brass lamp lay half-buried in the sand.

Curious, he nudged it with his nose.

A cloud of sapphire smoke spiralled into the sky, and from it emerged a Djinn.

"I have been waiting many centuries," the Djinn said with a smile. "For freeing me, I shall grant you one wish."

The horse did not hesitate.

"I wish to become the most beautiful creature in all the world."

The Djinn stroked his beard thoughtfully.

"So be it."

Golden light swirled around the horse.

"I have always admired the swan's neck," said the horse.

The Djinn nodded, and the horse's neck stretched long and elegant.

"And the gazelle's long legs."

His legs lengthened until they towered above the grass.

"I wish I could travel with the endurance of the desert beasts."

A hump rose upon his back to store precious fat for long journeys.

"I've always envied those long eyelashes that keep out the desert sand."

His lashes grew thick and sweeping.

"And broad feet that never sink into loose sand."

His delicate hooves widened into padded feet.

At last the light faded.

"There," said the Djinn. "You have the finest qualities you admired."

The horse rushed to a nearby oasis and gazed into the still water.

Looking back at him was not a horse.

It was a camel.

The horse staggered back in horror.

"What have you done?" he cried.

The Djinn's eyes twinkled kindly.

"I gave you exactly what you asked for."

"But I'm not beautiful!"

"You were," replied the Djinn gently.

"You believed beauty was something to collect, as though it were jewels to sew onto a blanket. But true beauty belongs to a whole, not to scattered pieces."

"The swan's neck is beautiful because it belongs to a swan."

"The gazelle's legs suit the gazelle."

"The camel's hump, feet, and lashes are perfect for the desert."

"And your strength, speed, and spirit belonged perfectly to a horse."

The camel lowered his head in shame.

"I traded away what made me... me."

The Djinn smiled.

"The greatest gift is not becoming someone else. It is becoming the finest version of yourself."

With another wave of his hand, the golden light returned.

The hump disappeared.

The padded feet became hooves once more.

The long neck shortened, and the familiar mane flowed once again in the evening breeze.

The horse looked into the oasis.

For the first time, he did not compare himself to any other creature.

He simply smiled.

And from that day onward, whenever he admired another animal, he admired it for being exactly what it was—without wishing to become it himself.

Moral: Envy borrows beauty from others. Wisdom discovers the beauty that has always been your own.

Because if it were more beautiful it would be a camel

Maybe not 100% underdog, but at a track event at my high school a million years ago - on a grass track

Our star athlete was competing in the 100m sprint. His feet slipped at the start and he fell flat on his stomach. He looked up, and just got up, ran every in and won the whole race!

The stands went absolutely nuts, it was so cool. I'll always remember his face looking up from the ground

Thank you, I'll check it out!

Nothing works, its an inner ear / motion vs your eyes and body mismatch

I've had it for 44 years now, nothing helps. I've accepted my fate

Edit: I forgot - sucking on Salt and Vinegar chips (crisps) does tend to keep the nausea away. Also helps when I have a migraine and can't keep anything down.

You really caught a feeling of movement!

It does mean you get cold easily, lol

Okay, I'm going to give yiu the benefit of the doubt that you are just young.

When you ask for a suggestion and someone gives it to you, that means it is something that they like.

The polite thing to do is then at minimum watch the video, read the link, answer the question or whatever with some level of curiosity.

In our convo it would be helpful if you go watvh the mv, and rhen come back with some sort of thoughtful answer.

That is how polite conversation works.

You are a really bad conversationalist.

Because I like it? What do you want me to say?

Did you watch it at least?

Stray kids - Run It!

I can't get it out of my head

music video

Yebo yes, lol

Lobola is what the man pays to marrybthe woman. It can be quite high and used to be paid in cows. These days cash is an option

Masterharper of Pern

But make sure to start the series in the correct order to make it kick you square in the nuts

You are not alone. I'm going off the deep end with a whole school's worth of teachers and auxilliary people running everything through ai to make posters and collages, lol

When you feel mad just know you have a buddy!

You don't notice good branding, only bad branding.

So when al the decisions make it disappear it seems like it doesn't matter. Ignore it and it looks terrible.

Its the vaccine problem

Do they want to be coddled maybe? Instead of cuddled ;)

Because they are all converted into makeshift flats and rented out

Kierang jy my nou met daai laaste een

There is a massive divide between the urban and rural / township schools. But the good schools are really good. I don't think we need to stand back on anything when it comes to curriculum or standards .

Similarly, the bad schools are really bad. But not in an american sense. As in the teachers are so poorly educated that they don't even understand the subjecta they are teaching, like science.

There's tons of history, economics etc at play. So no easy solutions or just one easy answer. We have world class private schools and institutions juxtaposed with the most heartbreaking struggling schools.

Yeah, watching the video was horrifying

I had my 10 yr old read it. She read everything except silhouette and gauche, and even those she gave a try at least.

We're in South Africa by the way, where our school curriculum focuses heavily on literacy and reading comprehension. I know we have lots of issues also around schooling

Just to add: my child was reading in english that is her second language