Karoo Phone Booth

The story of the Mojave Phone Booth (see previous post or just Google the term) is fascinating, in the way that pointless things sometimes are. There must be a similar remote public phone somwhere in South Africa that one could get the number for and have no end of interesting people answer. Somewhere in the Karoo perhaps? But on second thoughts why does one even need the phone to be in a remote area? Perhaps a phone booth at a taxi rank? Like the one in the picture +27 11 885 3434 (if the little chap managed to put the phone back on the hook.

Mojave Phone Booth

I was thinking about Scarlett and remembering that I once thought that Annabeth Gish in the same vein (I am probably one of very few here). I think her role in Mystic Pizza reminded me of someone. She then disappeared from the mainstream radar, although there were some good TV parts in West Wing, X-Files. Now I see that she has just completed what seems to be an interesting film called Mojave Phone Booth that is based on an actual phone booth(which accepted incoming calls) isolated in the Mojave Desert which gained an online following. Callers from many countries dialed in to see who would answer (often people who hiked to the spot). Looks like it could be an interesting story and curious to see how kind the years have been to Ms Gish.

M-Net Internal Announcement

At least for once the Sharks aren't the brunt of this one!
It's a comforting feeling.
Looking forward to the Sharks game versus the Reds this weekend. They are really due a win. Or should I start praying now? Word is that the lanky two-metre tall Australian 2005 U21 captain Ben Mowen, who has recovered from his broken jaw, could make his Super 14 debut from the bench. Always good to see new guys come through.

Direct translations

Had to chuckle. Just received a thank you note from a colleague in my masters course to whom I had sent some information. "Strongs with the research", he concludes. I guess the root sentence in his mind was the Afrikaans: "Sterkte met die navorsing"?  

Meeting the Bishop

The serendipity of life..is a bit like the six degrees of Kevin Bacon. I just bought my second and third Solomon Burke albums yesterday. This one "Soul Alive" recorded in 1981 in Washington, and another best of... It is awesome - this man is the true bishop of soul and is so full of good intentions in a gritty kind of way. "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love" is the theme that runs through (and it was Burke's song long before the Blues Brothers got hold of it).

But now the six degrees bit. I loved the Jon Cusack movie, High Fidelity, and the music in that, rushed out to buy the soundtrack. It has some wonderful Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello's mournful "Shipbuilding" and Stereolab's great tune called "Lo Boob Oscillator"! Then I picked up the original Nick Hornby novel, which unlike the US based film is set in the UK and has a completely different 'soundtrack'(if a book could have such a thing). Anyway to cut a potentially long story short the book refers to an all time top ten of songs which is topped by Solomon Burke's "Got to get you off of my mind" which I had heard neither the artist or song. OK that's only about 4 degrees of separation but that is how I got to meet the bishop.

The most delightful people you will ever meet in your life

They are a bit sentimental but these lines from the movie "Lost in Translation"  (Bill Murray / Scarlett Johanssen) strike a sharp chord with me..and I often share them with mates who are about to have their first..
Bob: It gets a whole lot more complicated when you have kids.
Charlotte: It's scary.
Bob: The most terrifying day of your life is the day the first one is born.
Charlotte: Nobody ever tells you that.
Bob: Your life, as you know it ... is gone. Never to return. But they learn how to walk, and they learn how to talk ... and you want to be with them. And they turn out to be the most delightful people you will ever meet in your life.

The South African property market has gone moggy..

It's official. I am now convinced that this market has gone absolutely moggy. Since selling up in Cape Town, bye-bye sea view, bye-bye million knots per hour south-easter, we, the good mrs & I, have been scouring the wad of newsprint that arrives with each Saturday Star. For nearly 5 months we have been looking for a new house, and hard, and with no success. Nothing extravagant: 3 beds, double garage, bit of garden and maybe a bit of character and a stoep to enjoy the odd Hansa. We've wasted countless Sunday afternoons trailing from showhouse to showhouse from Parkhurst to Jukskei Park. We've nearly got divorced over this house hunting thing as we both absolutely hate renting. Especially in the FortKnox grey walled cluster thingy we are currently staying in (remember the sea view damn it!).

Finally this weekend we saw the ultimate dive in the least trendy of suburbs, Bordeaux. We were nearly ill on entering this place owned by a pair of cat breeders, the house encaged in wire mesh and home to at least 20 rare cat breeds and in dire need of a serious overhaul if not demolition. It struck me that demolition might be the only way to get rid of the stench of cat urine. Anyway after a night's sleep we decided it was actually worth a second look, and that being aware that we are a rare couple that could visualise something decent through the mist of catpiss, we should perhaps consider a lowball offer. A phone call to the agent, however, put paid to this. They received 2 offers on showday, one for full asking price and one for even more. That is it! There is now no way that I am buying a property at the apex of this market. When all these thousands of cloned toytown houses in the North all come onto the market this market is going to dive. I'm leaving my cash in the bank or maybe in a gold ETF, and will take the risk of marital tension that this brings.

Thigh binding and rugby's grey areas

Something I only figured out recently. I had noticed that rugby players have recently taken to wearing a strange plaster and foam binding in the mid-thigh region. I had assumed that this was to treat some specific injury or was some new fad dreamed up by sports physiotherapists, not unlike the nose clips (to aid breathing) that players wore for a brief while some years ago. But thanks to a question posted on the BBC rugby site I have been alerted to the fact that these bindings are generally on the thighs of the line out jumpers and are there to help provide something for the jumpers supporters (or lifters) to grip on when they assist the jumper. There is nothing technically illegal about this but it doesn't seem right somehow. Where should the line be drawn? Would it then be OK for the jumpers to have rubber handles attached to their legs? Would it be acceptable for jumper to have sprung boots?

What is clear in modern rugby union is that the professional era has encouraged everyone to operate as close to the legal line as possible. The teams that succeed most at this , whether it be hovering on the offside line, holding on to the ball for that split second longer at the breakdown or slyly abusing the 'blood-bin' law to rotate players (especially those in the front row) are those that come out on top. It's never too long before the other sides pick up on these patterns and instead of challenging them or referring them to the IRB lawmakers teams move into this grey area and start employing these almost illegal patterns themselves. The attitude seems to be one of a classic "if you beat 'em, then join em" mindset.

A nation's soul is in its food?

Having recently moved to Jozi after a youth in KZN and then 8 years in Cape Town I have thoroughly enjoyed catching up with many long lost mates. Whenever I bump into someone though I can virtually guarantee that the conversation will end with:"Cheers, we must have a braai sometime." I'm not sure whether this indicates something specifically about me or if it's something that afflicts all Joburgers, whites or South Africans in general.

We've come a long way, or have we?

Doing what many Jo'burgers do when we have a national holiday to commemorate we had a gang of mates over to sit in the sun, char some meat over the coals and wash down it down with cold Hansa pilsener. Somewhere along the line I threw a well worn copy of Hot Chocolate's Greatest Hits onto the turntable (I did acknowledge the beers involved, didn't I?). What is interesting about this LP is not the rather jaded seventies porno' movie sound but rather the fact that the LP once lived in the SAUK (Suid Afrikaanse Uitsaai Korporasie) music archive and has the length of each song crudely annotated in ballpoint ink on the sleevenotes. Two songs have the bold warning "AVOID" marked over them. These evil and corrupting songs were "Sexy Thing" and "Rumours". Checking out the lyrics reveals just how inane they are and I think it probably had more to do with the idea that black men shouldn't be suggesting to the SAUK's white audiences that they should be getting down and dirty. The unofficial(or perhaps official?) ban must have been successful as I had to admit never having heard "Sexy Thing" until the 90's revival when Robert Carlisle and co took their kit off to the tune in The Full Monty.

We've not achieved nearly close to everything that needs to be done to really put our past behind us but at least we aren't wasting ink in censoring love songs anymore. We are still censoring songs though. As is shown by the same state broadcaster now censoring the Jacob Zuma support song Msholozi. Is it the same sort of thing? I am not sure. The purported rationale for banning is that it the words could be read as incitement. Either way it has the same sort of paternalism at heart that suggests that we (as a nation) are not mature enough to make up our own minds. What is different now is that we can, and have been able, to publicly debate the issue.

Gwyneth Lewis, Wales' national poet has launched a scathing attack on Welsh Rugby Union 'backroom' politics in this poem. Change a few words and it’d aptly apply to SARFU.
A Wooden Spoon for the WRU
(a druid speaks)
I have consulted the mistletoe,
stared at starling footprints in snow:
the time is ripe for your overthrow.
I give you a spoon I shaped of ash
because you didn't nurture the flash
of play but thought, maybe, of cash.
Here's a dip I turned from oak
but look, in your hands, it slips into smoke.
You've made our last Grand Slam a joke.
Actual rugby can never redeem
your backroom moves of dodge and scheme.
It's you who need to raise your game.
How can a committee always outlive
coaches, players? It's hard to forgive
shadowy men with hands like sieves.
Here's the last spoon, I carved it from gall:
it's you, not the team, who have dropped the ball.
Hang this up, with shame, in your hall.

Full story here.

Cavorting in the clouds with Kebble

'Strewth, finance journalism steps up a notch with Barry Sergeant
"Left alone, there is no question that Brett would have sold everything, eventually, until the world was flat and William Shakespeare would have been seen cavorting with Elvis Presley in a Berlin bunker."

The best thing about the SA Blog Awards..

is not the incestuous, self-congratulatory backslapping of the participants, which 'hell why not' I don't have a problem with at all. Congrats to all of them, especially Peas and her agent twa. The best thing is that it provides a central repository homepage of great links to good, proud ZA Blogs and in a sense creates a community out of all of them. What we have is unique and vibrant blog community who deal with serious issues (since our land is full of them) but also know how to have fun and generally take the piss.

When I revisit sites that started the whole blog thing in the 'States such as the great-grandaddy of bloggers, Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit I notice a lack of vibrancy as if he is just posting for the sake of posting. Many of my old favourites now simply return dead links. The passion and excitement of the early 2000's has left these blogs. Even legal bolgs of people like Stuart Buck at the Buck Stops Here used to provide an insight into themselves and their broader interests. Now it's pretty much focussed on the US legal system and administration, and much as I like the writing it does tend to lack personality. Let us hope the ZA blog community retains its vibrancy going forward.

All Peas' talk of foreign travel reminded me of this old post. The Man Who Went Away. Worth the read, promise.

FLATSTANLEY TO ROCK THE 88 LOUNGE 19 MARCH 06

One of my favourite ZA bands, original mainstream rock outfit FLATSTANLEY, is in Jozi this weekend to prop up the lower part of the bill at the Metallica (CocaCola Colab) concert and will be performing at The 88 Lounge, 114 William Road, Norwood  on Sunday, 19 March at 8pm. Well worth a visit, and they have a fantastic & huge presence in smaller venues and I'm talikng of their music, not the size of lead vocalist Andy Mac. Tickets are R 50, doors open at 7pm. Contact 011-7288414 to pre-book.

Not wanting to bash the man but...

I agree with John Bishop in today's Witness.
While Ponting was warmly praising the South African effort and refusing to share the man-of-the-match award with Gibbs — “this should go to Herschelle alone for winning the match for his side” — Smith paid tribute his players, his back-up staff, the crowd, the supporters, the sponsors, the scoreboard operators, everyone really, except his opponents standing alongside him... Ricky Ponting, in defeat, seized the moment; Graeme Smith, in triumph, did not.

What The ODI Victory Means To South Africans

Great article by Luke Tagg.
"I should have been absolutely correct about the result, because that was our pattern. Do some good stuff, have one or two flashes of brilliance, but ultimately settle for a hard-fought second place and yet more disappointment and disillusion. That pattern has been completely erased now. Never again can I have utter certainty when predicting a result for South Africa. I may be 99 percent sure we won't win, but I'll always have my one percent to fall back on. The Wanderers ODI has given me - and the rest of this nation - at least that one percent for the future, and it's all we need for a massive burden to be lifted from our shoulders."

Cornerstones of democracy

"As you are aware, our government's policy on sexual health is predicated on three cornerstones: abstinence or the delay of the start of sexual activity; faithfulness, and consistent and correct condom use". Speech by then vice-president Jacob Zuma in Feb 2005.

Guilty or not of rape it doesn't seem that JZ was too keen to live up to these policies. He has admitted violation of all three of these cornerstones.

Inbreeding in the Global Village

Clive Longbottom has an interesting article with above title on IT Director. (http://www.it-director.com/article.php?id=13190).
"We are also giving more soapboxes to those who want to stand and rant—Blogging is on the increase (at least in those who provide blog output—our research shows that blog readership is still miniscule, and is moving more towards community of interest style usage). It seems that the amount of “good” information is rapidly being hidden under the mountain of “dubious” information."

Interesting that there are more writers - less interested readers.

Armchair economists

Business Day published this letter of mine in April last year. The comments are still valid. Quick tip on how to get published in Business Day. Short (less than 100 words), pithy and witty! Don't even think of rambling like I do in my blog.


All manner of armchair economists (and some more serious such as Cosatu's Neva Makgetla - Business Day, April 8) have called for some intervention (e.g. rate cuts) to devalue the currency. The economist, Professor Antal E. Fekete (Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada), provides this comment on the debasement of the US currency which I find equally relevant to our own circumstance: "You have to pursue the argument of dismal monetary science ad absurdum to understand it. If a little bit of devaluation is supposed to be good for the country, then a big devaluation should be even better and, reducing the exchange rate to zero, Nirvana itself. Then the country could give away its goods and services to foreigners free of charge. That, finally, will really perk up exports."

Letter to the Editor - Personal Liability

Business Day published this letter from me in October last year. They edited out the bit about Maria Ramos though.

SIR – In an era of limited liability and buck passing Michael Pireu's column on Lloyds (October 21), as always, makes one think. In the same issue where there is comment on the responsibility and liability of the Leisurenet directors, and calls on auditors to recognise their primary role as protecting the public interest, Pireu points out that one of the reasons for rise and success of Lloyds was that the members "had to be willing to commit all their worldly possessions to make good on their customers losses." A few days after Maria Ramos equated corporate governance with corruption that type of willingness today would surely restore some trust in the capital markets!

Traffic vs Life

I wonder if there is a relationship between the way that people drive and their sucess level and workstyle. That is, are drivers who push in, aggressively overtake and go as fast as possible more successful than those, like myself, who are just chill out in the traffic? Maybe I just need a faster car?

(TMAG) The Most Amazing Game..

...Apologies to Corne & Twakkie....Wayne Wides of Commentaryhas posted a good comment on the game with some views. But check out the comments section as he regales some of the comments from the Sportal.com forum: eg ""THEY WONT WIN!! GOSH people are so stupid. Oh look they're hitting some boundaries, they're gonna chase 435. Idiots". Go here to see the rest : http://www.commentary.co.za/?mod=viewblog&id=1739#comments .

Zuma fiasco has a really sad consequence..

Will anyone actually report a rape in future and willingly subject themselves to the trauma of going to trial? That is surely the most dire outcome of the current JZ rape trial and one that may have a more lasting impact than the actual outcome of the trial. For once I agree with the serial whingers in the Democratic Alliance who have come out with the comment report by IOL.co.za that "the behaviour of Zuma's supporters outside the Johannesburg High Court, which included publicising the name of the complainant and burning posters with her pictures, had grievously damaged the cause of justice and women's rights." It is not only this, it is the failure of the courts and its officials to shield the complainant physically in the way that she has had to enter the building through a public entrance and that there has been a failure to protect her identity without prosecution of those responsible.

I am glad to see that prominent ANC women have also expressed concern that "the trial showed the gap between the constitutional protection of women and what happened in practice".

I have a feeling that JZ, and perhaps many others in this country, saw nothing wrong with his actions (if they did take place as described in court) and it is possible that he has behaved in such a way before without being pulled up before the courts. If it is fair that the complainant has her sexual history brought to the fore and examined then it would be fair that the same is asked of JZ and perhaps the prosecutor should challenge other potential complainants who may have been similarly treated in the past to reveal themselves.  The nature and message of rape education that is currently being undertaken in advertising supports this. If there is a need people to be educated in the basics of an acceptable "no means no" mindset then it is probably because the advertisers have identified that enough people don't understand this mindset.

The worst outcome for the future of rape in this country would be that a "not guilty" verdict is returned whether in this case it is the just verdict or not. Future rape victims may be willing to subject themselves to the trauma of testifying so that justice can be served, but a "not guilty" verdict here will emphasise that the testimony and trauma alone will not guarantee a conviction.

The full article is at : http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=vn20060313012138119C734677 and is on page 4 of today's Cape Times.

Ricky Ponting

You have to hand it to Aussie cricket captain Ricky Ponting. He is really great at being magnanimous in defeat and giving credit where it's due. While I am sure that it is a conscious decision to not court controversy through the media, he is great at just saying the right thing and not being drawn into tabloid slanging matches (something that I see Graeme Smith and Shane Warne have already entered into before the upcoming Test series). Gilchrist was similarly humble and offered no excuses after the drubbing they received at Newlands.

On Sunday Ponting declined receiving a joint man-of-the-match award insisting that Gibbs was more deserving and brushed off a crowd incident involving Brett Lee with this comment: "Brett got a few bottles thrown at him ... nothing major." I love his and Adam Gilchrist's 'no excuses' attitude and they're definitely up there on my list of blokes I'd like to have a beer with. I'm buying.

Why my life is not fulfilled..

Amazing what one finds out on the radio. Listening to KayaFM on the way in to the daily slog this morning all was revealed. It was deep in the ad copy for Sanlam Financial Advisors. The tagline "Financial solutions for a fulfilled life". Now I know what I'm doing wrong - It's not my job or some deep existential crisis - I'm with the wrong insurance company. I must call my broker now..

The Aussies are done...(except in Canberra)

I guess there is not too much more to say on yesterday's cricket match. The pundits are already claiming this to the "greatest match in history". I have no doubt that this hype will fade over time. Nevertheless it was a remarkable game. Frustratingly I was reduced to listening to awful commentary from Hilton Ackerman on Radio2000. His commentary was arrogant and overly optimistic and for most of the last 2 overs I had no idea what the score was. His confidence was such that SA were going to win because Makhaya Ntini went to the same school as he did. Come on! Ian Bishop (as the co-commentator) did his best to restore some sanity and reporting ability to the commentary box but was not too successful. I really wish we could be blessed with some of the quality UK commentators. But South Africa can honestly claim to have lost the tag of 'chokers' for some time and Herschelle Gibbs chirp after the match in thanking the Wanderers crowd and hoping that the go to work on Monday with a "moerse babelaas" was priceless. Roll on the test series. I am still concerned about our lack of quality bowling though and I fear that this may well show up in the tests. Lost in the hype of yesterday's cricket match is the choke of weekend where the Sharks rugby side were well ahead in their away game against the Brumbies only to lose 35-30. It seems that man who turned the match for the Brumbies was none other than Kiwi referee Paul Honiss. Deon Carstens (Sharks prop) was yellow carded and sent off for ...wait for it....being offside in the backline. Fair enough there was a bit of context and build up to the sending off, but I am weary of referees who, out of frustration at their inability to properly control the game, decide that sending someone off will solve this. All this does is randomly penalise one side and ruins the game as a spectacle. Bloody schoolmasters. On a positive note, and despite the lowly position they have on the log, the Sharks are actually showing enormous spirit and skill this season. The crop of youngsters are giving their all and are being well led by AJ Venter and the older guys. Perhaps a good home leg can redeem the season for them.

Are we going to throw it away again?...

South Africa take a 2-1 lead into the fourth one-dayer in Durban tomorrow and need one win from the two remaining games to take the series.
“These next two games are going to be like finals for both teams, it’s do or die,” Boucher said.  
So reports the Natal Witness (http://www.witness.co.za/default.asp?myAction=detail&myRef=41510&myCat=sport).

What is about teams in this country. We have developed a nasty habit of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. I just hope that in this "do or die" affair we at least emerge with our reputations intact. We need a serious contribution from Graeme Smith to prove that he is really back. I just wonder what we would be feeling now if he had been given out on 16 at Centurion. The replays clearly indicated that he was pretty plumb! Would the media and public have lynched him by now. I think he's done a pretty good job and I'd rather have a beer with him than I would have with Hansie. Win in Durban and prove that we have what it takes.

Rugby Juice 3 parts per 1129 is pretty diluted...

"The International Rugby Board reports that it conducted a record 1129 anti-doping tests in 2005 with just three violations recorded." So reports http://xtramsn.co.nz/rugby/0,,12416-5493723,00.html . I can't believe that the number of positives is so low. But it does confirm that there is definitely some doping in the sport. I still have a serious hunch that these guys are still "juicing" up heavily in the off season and while on enforced injury breaks.Some of these guys just have bulked up too big and too quick for this to be the product of weight training and a diet of red meat alone. I'd also be curious to know just how independent the process is. Who could independently confirm that 1129 people were (randomly) tested and that only 3 tests were in fact positive? How many of those tested were near the theoretical limits and were given the benefit of the doubt? While I do admire the athletes that players have become I do hanker somewhat for the days where the scrawny could still contribute on the rugby field. But perhaps that's because I'm rather thin on the bone myself and have a thing for the nostalgic as a matter of course. It is and remains a great game. Now if only the Sharks would beat the Brumbies this weekend!

Mail-to-Blogger Publishing

The one great thing development on blogger since I last had a regular posting session is the ability that one now has to simply email one's posts in and then let blogger do the auto publish thing. While I have struggled putting any html code into emailed posts (meaning some laborious re-editing online!) it's a hell of lot simpler and quicker. Hence my busy postings today. This link will tell you how.

Not really possible to be anonymous out here

Peas, formerly of the Peas on Toast blog has had to change her blog name because some folk that she would rather not have, or might, read it . Thanks to TWA for putting me back on track.I'm not going to change the hyperlink on my site just yet: 1) because it's rather a mission on blogger , but more importantly 2) because anyone who can google with a modicum of savvy can probably put track her down again and my humble and neglected site would just be another needle in that haystack.

But it begs the question as to just how anonymous one can be in the blogosphere.

The big problem is erasing history, particularly because google uses a cache on it's own servers to store information as it trawls the web. I mean,  in the process of trying to find out where peas had vanished to it took about 5 minutes to track down her real name (LC?). I already know from her blog roughly where she lives and shops. I think she even posted a photo on her blog a while back. It's just a bit freaky and scares the hell out me. The anonymity does help one be a little less PC when we talk of our friends, parents etc. But I think we need to be wary enough only to be honest, and not nasty. Honesty at least is defensible no matter when you are outed. And that's great virtue of peas' blog - it's got its heart on its sleeve and can't be faulted for lack of honesty or any implied nastiness. I hope that the events of the last few days don't mean that the peas blog goes offline in the future. I'd miss it.
 

The white CiTi Golf has been replaced..

..as the car of choice for attractive blonde girl drivers. Really, I don't want to come across as some misogynist commentator here. It's just an observation. There always seemed a correlation between attractive blonde girls and the model of their first car. Probably one year old ex-rental cars lovingly bought by fathers as they sent their daughters out into the big bad world. This phenomenon has died a slow death. White CiTi golfs are now as eighties as la Coste collared shirts (and as tatty). The car of choice now is the Mini Cooper (any colour - but often red). This is quite a sad indictment of society that someone's first car Daddy bought costs some R200k. But pleasingly the girls are as pretty.

More on the Rugby Old Boys Club

Keo has a go at the old boys club and outdated ways of rugby administrators in this article. Just curious whether the new boss in Oregan Hoskins will change matters much. Interesting to see the unconfirmed vote to bring him was 27-17 in favour and by no means the unaminous shoe-in that was made out in the headlines. So there are still 17 votes for the man who doesn't seem to come out to clean in last year's judicial report into mismanagement at SARU where inter alia: "It was later established that Mr Van Rooyen subsequently met in secret with certain officials to seek support for the establishment of a discretionary fund for him as President in an amount of R5 million, which he could then use for setting up office in Johannesburg". For some reason I can no longer find this report on the SARFU website.