....our poor Zimbabwean brothers and sisters suffer under hyperinflation attributed to Mr Mugabe's reign of terror.
A South African friend of mine at work (Lemac Films) just returned from a Christmas/New Years holiday back in his home country and had this to share about his poor Zimbabwean neighbours.
At the end of 2008:
One 200 000 Zim dollar note (ZWD$) equaled less than USD$0.10 cents
Then, on 22 December 2007, a new note of 500 000 dollars is introduced to the market
Soon, a 750 000 dollar note
By January 2008 - new 10 million dollar notes...
...which at the time of print was worth 10 times less than this USD$10 dollar note
happily on his way to buy a handful of lollies at the corner shop
A case worth 65 billion Zimbabwe dollars equaled about USD$2,000
Off to the supermarket. The exchange rate at the time was 25 million Zimbabwe dollars for USD$1 dollar
This mountain of cash is worth as much as the USD$100 sitting on top of it
The ZWD$50 Million note is then introduced
why stop there tho?? Next up is the 250 million dollar note
"Sorry, how much was this t-shirt again?" "Oh, it's heaps cheap, only about 3 billion dollars"
(notice the sign - "...prices are now shown in millions and billions)
May 2008 - a note of 500 million dollar is introduced
June - notes worth 25 and 50 billion are printed (and the fantastic Mr. Mugabe)
and finally, a 100 billion dollar note
which at the time of printing could buy you these 3 fine eggs
yes, this is indeed how much people have to bring to a restaurant if they're to pay in cash
the bill
On 1 August 2008, the government devalued the Zimbabwe dollar by removing 10 zeros from notes
However, inflation kept going up, and by September for this amount of cash you could only buy around 4 tomatoes
and still a handful of cash for a simple loaf of bread
and then it started again, the 20 000 dollars note in September 2008
and a new 50 000 note newly printed just a few weeks back in the end of 2008
The country's currency plunged to a new record low just this last Monday, trading at an average ZWD$250,599,608,000,000,000.00 to the USD$ (I pulled that figure off xe.com's Universal Currency Converter which we always used at National Geographic Films when I worked there - remember you have to add 10 zeros to the end of the figures given) and triggering massive price increases.
The hyperinflation is now estimated at over 231,000,000%...although no one really knows.
All of which explains the picture of this toilet…
close up:
(if you doubt any of the above, have a read on the following link, and do your own currency conversion from USD$ to ZWD$ on any online currency trading site (ie www.xe.com, www.oanda.com, etc)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zim_dollar
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The future of digital still and motion picture capture is being completely rewritten. As I type this at 11:01pm (Australian ET), Jim Jannard, billionaire ex-Oakley sunglasses founder/owner and now CEO of RED Digital Cinema is posting information on the specifications of the new RED Epic and Scarlet cameras. No words can truly define how breathtaking this is for professional photographers and filmmakers the world over.
We're talking about an entry level camera that your grandma can shoot on (and purchase, because the price point is incredibly low for what you're getting) that could stand up against any film projected in a cinema (resolution-wise...remember, it still takes some great lighting skills and a good eye to make pretty pictures at the end of the day).
Scarlet can shoot nearly 5MP at 120 frames per second (thats MEGA PIXELS)! Thats more than 4-5 times 1080P HDTV resolution. 120fps is essentially 4 times slow motion...Think NFL Films or some really nice, smooth slow mo (Napoleon Dynamite shot of him walking in the suit type stuff)
In a variant, Scarlet can shoot at up to 24MP at 30 frames per second. Insane.
Epic can shoot, get this, up to a 291MP image at 25fps...yes, thats over two hundred mega pixels, on a large format size sensor, for ONLY $55,000!! You may think thats a ton of money, but for pro photogs, magazines or billboard ads, not really.
You thought the hit BBC doco, Planet Earth was "earth" shattering??? Think of what kind of quality can be shot with these.
Here's just a taste of one of the more than a trillion possible configurations with the two new "brains" they're releasing (in a DSLR-like mode):
Probably won't be getting much sleep tonight...and it looks like Jim probably won't have slept in 48hrs after this is all said and done (he was more giddy than a school boy. Read his forum posts for proof! Billionaires. Sheesh.)
(for an unfinished (I'll get around to it eventually :) history of my [Brad's] experience with RED Digital Cinema, meeting Jim Jannard at two NAB's, and getting RED's Ted Schilowitz out to NatGeo in D.C., and taking him around town here in Sydney, Australia, go to my old blog here)
It was October 2002. I had been married to Kimberly for 6 months, and been off my LDS mission (Australia Sydney South) for nearly a year and a half when in the priesthood session of the LDS General Conference, Elder M. Russell Ballard spoke his everlasting sermon about "raising the bar" for missionaries - in essence, raising the minimum standard, that not any kid who committed wrongful acts could go on a mission. I hadn't committed any grievous acts prior to my mission and this isn't a coming out confession regarding my worthiness pre-mish...rather, perhaps, a confession looking back that I fell trap to the most heinous "crime" a missionary can commit - baptizing people who hadn't been adequately prepared for the long haul.
Why am I thinking about this now, more than 7 years since my "return[ing] with honour"? I finally tracked down a Chinese lady my companion and I taught and baptised in the Hurstville Ward back in 2000. How? Google. (I know, why'd it take so long!) She's now a concert violinist who's been painted by a Nobel Peace prize winner and International Olympic Committee artist. I just got off the phone with her about 5 minutes ago after having had no communication for ages. At the end of the conversation I asked about her church attendance. In broken English (too bad I couldn't have conversed in her native Mandarin like I should have been able to, having dropped out of Chinese after 3 semesters at BYU), she mentioned her music keeps her too busy and she hasn't attended in a very long time, but if they [the Ward] would like her to perform in Church, that she would oblige for a small donation.
How is it the dogma of mission zone conferences (at least in my mission, and from what I've heard, every mission any of my friends have served in) has ended up so focused on the numbers? "How many people are you going to baptize this month, Elder/Sister?" Looking back at my mission, if I were to have done it right, I don't think I would have had any baptisms from my own finding. They would (should) have been baptised long after I had left. Why? For that very reason seen exemplified by this sweet Chinese lady. She wasn't ready at the time, but she showed signs of progress, met the minimum requirements for baptism, and sadly, you feel a sense of relief knowing that your next accountability, or interview with president, wouldn't be so harsh.
If I could redo it all over again (or if for some random reason someone is reading this who is planning on serving a mission), I would raise the bar so the minimum requirements for baptism were the following (after the already minimum requirements of showing some signs of a testimony and committing to live covenants - that they probably don't understand anyway):
- Individuals must be better friends with at least one (preferably two or more) "permanent" families (meaning, they own their home or aren't going anywhere anytime soon), than they are with the missionaries teaching them
- After the initial discussion, no lessons are taught without a ward member present (if at all possible), and preferably in one of their homes (this is of course recommended, but I think it should be a rule)
- Read at least 1 Nephi through Alma in the Book of Mormon, showing signs they plan on finishing the entire book in a reasonable time frame
- Fully understand the law of tithing and live it for a month (or two)
- attend Church for at least two months
- participate in fasting for two fast Sundays
- If at all possible, taken to tour the closest temple grounds or visitors center with a family (not the missionaries)
- attend family home evenings with a couple different families
That really doesn't seem like very much, now does it? Its apparent that the majority of those include befriending by other members, because the missionaries come and go. Thats the key! (oh wait, I that we already knew that?) I'm not in any position to institute this (certainly), but I can sure do my part as a family or "ward member" as noted above.
I really think if people who were investigating the Church were to accomplish the above, they would prove to be in it for the long haul, and not just passively accepting and being baptised within a week of meeting the missionaries (which, I hate to say, honestly seems like a complete joke, unless they were SERIOUSLY converted from the start).
I would love to hear what you think, or your experience on this matter. Please sound off in the comments! (please...please?)
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