onanymous

Wordle

2009-05-11T12:04:00.000+02:00

Wordle is a free word cloud generator. You can paste in some text or just add the url to any website or feed. From there you can specify the colours, fonts and layout. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text, so they will be larger in the final artwork.

Unfortunately you can't specify the shape of the final cloud, but it's great for brainstorming, finding out about your blogging habits or just wasting a pleasant 20 minutes.

Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog

2008-07-07T16:12:00.004+02:00

This is the best news since Dollhouse was announced!

"Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog" is a three part supervillain musical written by Joss Whedon and starring Neil Patrick Harris & Nathan Fillion.

“It’s the story of a low-rent super-villain, the hero who keeps beating him up, and the cute girl from the laundromat he’s too shy to talk to.”

It was concieved during the writer's strike and filmed in 6 days "on favors and waivers" using a crew of longtime Whedon loyalists.

It will be treamed for FREE on the official website for one week only.
The first part goes up on July 15th.

Dark Horse Comics have also released “Captain Hammer: be like me! Nemesis of Doctor Horrible”. You can read it here.

It will eventually be released on dvd with lots of extras "which are going to be the finest in all the land. We're actually going to do, in addition to the commentary, what we refer to as ‘commentary with an exclamation point'! A musical commentary that is a completely original musical, that is all commentary songs, and we're writing that now."

Not that is something I would love to own!

Eoin Colfer

2008-03-12T13:48:00.004+02:00

I am allowed to be a bit geeky sometimes. Especially if it's in a way that's not really possible very often if you live in SA.)

Eoin Colfer is in South Africa to promote his new book, Airman. (Unfortunately the next Artemis Fowl book is only coming out in August) So of course we took ourselves down to the Hyde Park EB on Tuesday to meet him.

Turns out that he's very Irish, very funny and just really nice too. He's very comfortable in front of a crowd and all the kids just loved him. (There were loads of them. Made me feel extremely old :D)

I also bought the new book and I can't wait to start reading it.

Woyzeck On The Highveld

2008-03-06T11:09:00.005+02:00

The Handspring Puppet Company is performing Woyzeck On The Highveld at the Market Theatre in Johannesburg on 4 - 30 March 2008. (It will also be in Cape Town in May)

It's a multi-media event incorporating the animated drawings of William Kentridge with the Handspring puppets and live performers in an adaptation of German writer Georg Buchner's famous play of jealousy, murder and the struggle of an individual against an uncaring society which eventually destroys him.

The production originally premiered at the Grahamstown Festival in 1992 and was the first collaboration between Handspring and Kentridge. It brings together rod-manipulated puppets and animated film to graphically illustrate Woyzek's tortured mind as he tries to make sense of his external circumstances.

I saw Handspring's brilliant Tall Horse a few years ago, so I'm extremely excited to see another one, especially one featuring William Kentridge animations.

Tickets are available now, and it's not even that expensive. Don't miss it!

Wind Sprites

2007-11-14T10:48:00.000+02:00

As the light of the early morning sun hits the pods, they start to emerge,weak from their long confinement and struggling against the tough shells that kept them safe throughout their time of change.
Soon their new wings will be strong enough for the breeze to lightly lift them off their perches and carry them far away.

FANTASY XXIV: "Metamorphosis"

Brief: Things change. You are to depict as fantasy image of things are changing, or how they have changed over long periods. Transformations, transmutations,emerging, polymorphing, evolution, whatever you can come up with, as long as there is some sense of a before and after, it should be fair game for a subject.

Closeup of the first, second and third sprite.

Animated Work in Progress (About 450Kb)

Sources

It's amazing how things work sometimes. I usually struggle for ages to find some kind of workable concept. This time I almost instantly knew what I wanted to do. I even made pre-sketches. On actual paper.

I also found the perfect source for my main sprite in Marcus Ranum's DA gallery, so without too much fuss, she had taken (a rather nice) form. I even tried a new technique - painting on highlights instead of using the dodge tool, to give her a much more glistening / surreal look. I'm also quite proud of how well the wings turned out.

Then it got a lot harder. I wasted almost 2 days trying and discarding different backgrounds, but nothing would work. I knew what I wanted, of course, but just couldn't find it. Since time was running out, I finally settled on this one, but it isn't really such a perfect fit.

Most of the critiques I got was about the busyness or distracting quality of the background. Even though I had cleaned the original picture up considerably, I tend to agree with them. Who knows, maybe I'll find or take the perfect picture to use somewhere in the future. Then I can finish this one properly.

Final Score: 8.999 (I can't believe how close this is!! Just a mere 0.001 more and I would have had my very first 9!)

Piper's Dream

2007-07-17T10:00:00.000+02:00

At the base of the ruined city, an old piper still plays.

Dipping into the ancient, forgotten melodies.

Conjuring up images of what was, what might have been.

What could never be again.

Fantasy XX: Music

Brief: This image must contain something related to MUSIC. Since it is difficult to make sound appear in an image, you will probably chose to show instruments, dancing, or other activities that are usually associated with sounds. MUSIC is of course a matter of taste, so a simple horn that would summon your presence on a lonely cliff, would be acceptable,full troops of colourful dancers, pied pipers, surreal images of cellos frozen in crystal, a lonely drummer, an insect rock band, a harp soothing the savage beast or just about anything you can come up with that we could foresee being associated with some sort of sound effects will be fine.

Animated Work in Progress (485 Kb)

Sources

Unfortunately this was a bit of a rush job. It's a very nice theme, but after a hectic few weeks at work and a total blank on the inspirational front, I finally had only 2 days left with nothing more to show than a few scribbles done during the boring bits of Remix'07.

I had found the piper source earlier, loved it, and wanted to use it, but he just didn't want to fit into any else. (The vertical format is more due to not being able to find satisfactory background sources than any artistic choices)

But the dragon I like. They do seem to get easier as I go along. Still blue though. He was actually supposed to have a lot more spikes along his back, but I'm impressed by how well the horns worked.

It looks ok, not as refined as it might have been, but I'm happy enough with it.

Final Score: 7.821

25

2007-06-20T11:30:00.000+02:00

Wow, a quarter of a century...

It always sounded so old. So far away.
Now I'm there, but I don't really feel any different.

The Lion King

2007-06-19T10:19:00.000+02:00

What an amazing, larger-than-life experience! I have been yearning to see this show ever since my first glimpse of it at the Tony Awards all those years ago. It has been well worth the wait.

Using a combination of masks, bunraku puppets, body paint and shadow puppetry, the splendour and diversity of an African savannah is created. It's brilliant and the visual animation on stage is truly the essence of the show.

Most of the lead actors have performed their roles before in productions all over the world and with the exception of Scar's Mark Rayment, all are South African.
The first few notes of Buyisile Zama's Rafiki literally sent shivers down my spine.

I enjoyed the local flavour. Shenzi has a Cape flats accent and Pumbaa uses more than a few Afrikaans words. Even little Nala got a huge laugh with a very well timed "Hey Wena!". This kind of thing is often used to gain a few more laughs in regional productions, but here it also helped to strengthen the diversity of the characters.

The wildebeest stampede was incredibly powerful, and with the exception of maybe the opening sequence and Simba's vision of Mufasa, my favourite in the whole show.

It's strange, the theatre itself feels small and intimate, but it seats over 1900 people! It is so well designed that there's basically not a bad seat in the house, since you are no further than 33m for the stage wherever you sit. I love the way the acoustic tiling inside the theatre is reminiscent of woven reeds - distinctly African, but not overbearing.

The best part? I'm going to see it again in July, this time from the front row, courtesy of my really, really cool boss.

The Descent

2007-05-14T06:47:00.000+02:00

Slowly, gracefully,
the Harpy descends into the dusk,
ready to claim the soul of her first victim.

Fantasy XVIII: The First

Brief: You are to depict an image that shows THE FIRST of something.This could be anything from newborns, to the oldest, to the newly coronated, first contact with aliens, first explored planet, a first kiss, or victory, or the launch of some new overwhelming project on which something is dependent like the first starship, heck you could show the favourite among the concubines of some sultan...lots and lots of fun for the whole family.

Work in Progress

Sources

Once again, I'm really grateful to Tracie76 for letting me use one of her wonderful jump photos. (I used them previously for In Captivity)

I really wanted to do something a bit less depressing for this contest, so someone or something experiencing flight for the first time, immediately came to mind. I started this, abandoned it in favour of a Da Vinci-esque, bubble driven flying machine, and then came back to it when I couldn't find the exact right pictures I needed for the other one.

I liked the fact that her arms were merged into the wings, making her different from most usual winged humanoids. After doing a bit of research, I settled on a Harpy.

Traditionally they are depicted as a bird of prey with the face and torso of a woman. In earlier myths they were described as beautiful, winged maidens, or winged death-spirits. It was only later that they became the hideous, foul-smelling, winged monsters with the face of an ugly old woman, represented carrying off persons to the underworld and inflicting punishment or tormenting them.

For obvious reasons, I opted for the earlier description, as well as their traditional Greek role of escorting the spirits of the dead.

I like the warm, pastel colours. It's a bit different from my normal, colder palette, but it works and helps to create a much more serene atmosphere.

I'm really satisfied with the final result.

Final Score: 8.155

Persimmons

2007-05-08T00:20:00.000+02:00

Cape Town - it was just a quick visit, but it was wonderful!

From eating smoked snoek and grapes while watching the sunset from Signal Hill (a very old family tradition) to finding 2 very cheap Terry Pratchett books in Paperweight, everything was just sooo much fun. I even got to see Herman for a whole 40 minutes before I had to leave for the airport.

However, my biggest discovery of the weekend was sweet persimmons.

We were invited for supper by my Dad's cousin, who lives on a farm just outside Stellenbosch. They mainly grow all the kinds of leaves and greenery you find in flower arrangements, but they also have some persimmon trees.

They look like fat, orange tomatoes, and when peeled, their flesh have a peach-like texture. However, I've never tasted anything like them before. Soft and very sweet, with an almost honeyish taste.

I prefer them fresh and raw, but they're just as delicious when quickly fried in a pan with a bit of cinnamon, and served over ice cream.

Apparently, their botanical name, Diospyros, is even Greek for “food of the gods".

Re: Sales are evil!

2007-03-25T04:38:00.000+02:00

I did it again. It seems that I am physically incapable of not buying things at sales.
Especially if I have been wanting them for a long time.
And they are extremely cheap.
And have lots of special features.
And some even have double discs.
Sigh.

Oh well, now I just won't be allowed to buy any more books or DVDs for a long time.

(The last Harry Potter book is of course excused from this rule)

Slip of the Tongue

2007-03-19T08:02:00.000+02:00

Anatomy Sramble 2

Just a quick little chop that didn't really do as well as I had hoped.
Still, I quite like the way it came out.

Final Score: 6.119

Mothers

2007-01-30T02:22:00.000+02:00

Tree of Life 7

An arboreal Lamaze class.

Closeup

Sources

This one was actually meant for the Fantasy XIV: Humanoids contest, but with the holidays and everything, I just never got around to finishing it. It was actually going to be based on the fates - the maiden, the mother and the crone, but when a Tree of Life contest came around again, all I had to do was make them all pregnant, and it fit the theme perfectly.
I'm really not that used to short contests anymore, so their lack of proper heads is due to my time running out. (And because none of the available pregnant source pics actually showed faces)
Unfortunately, my newly pregnant sister found the fact that I had 'decapitated' them, rather traumatic.

Final Score: 7.276

Image Problems

2007-01-24T06:19:00.000+02:00

I know that a lot of the graphics are broken at the moment.
I'm not sure what went wrong, or why it is only some of the images.

I have contacted Imageshack, to see if they can fix it, but for now it looks like I'm going to have to re-upload and re-link everything.

Lovely.

The Last Naiad

2006-12-11T09:22:00.000+02:00

"Whether science or magic was to blame, nobody knew, but something was turning all the water in the world into ice. It started slowly, unobtrusively - tiny flecks of ice floating in ponds, a few crystals on the edges of a waterfall. But like an infection, the ice kept spreading.

The Naiads, so intimately connected to the bodies of water under their protection that their very existence depended on it, were the first to feel the lasting effects. Their aqueous bodies became lethargic, hard to move. They tried to fight it, but the spread of the ice was unrelentless and absolute

Finally, one by one, they stopped struggling, giving themselves over to the ice and it's cold, hard oblivion."

Fantasy XIII: Sole Survivor

Brief: Depict an image of the last surviving entity of some type. What that survivor is, will be up to you, and we will be generous in the interpretation, but loss, tragedy, and even hope are historically the types of emotions that images of this type try to convey.

Work in Progress

Sources

Closeup

I struggled to find a concept for this one. At first I wanted to do something a lot more personal (and more obviously sad) , but while I was looking for sources, I discovered this beautiful photo by osga and this picture just sort of grew from there.

Of course, the whole viral ice thing was inspired by Kurt Vonnegut's Ice-nine from Cat's Cradle. I've never actually read it, but the concept has intrigued me for a while. I just wanted to put a bit of a fantasy angle on it.

Doesn't amphibian feet just make the most interesting ears/fins?

I know the tail doesn't really make sense anatomically, but I needed something to enhance the transparency of her liquid form. I actually wanted to turn it into hair or a headdress or something, but I just literally ran out of time.

At least all this work earned me my highest score yet.

Final Score: 8.927

Carved Crayons

2006-12-07T11:55:00.000+02:00

Peter Goldlust uses ordinary wax crayons to create the most amazing carvings.

From his website:

"The work reflects my interest in mutated, hybrid forms, and the disjunctive psychological states that they represent.

I’ve explored these themes using a variety of media. These have included traditional studio techniques, digital imaging, industrial manufacturing processes, and children’s arts-and-crafts materials. A sense of play is key to each of these creative strategies."

While googling for a bit more info, I also found a few more stationary based sculptors:

The art of pencil carving.

Joseph Barbaccia constructed a very impressive self portrait with crayons.

Diem Chau's Storytelling series.

Castle Wyvern

2006-11-06T09:49:00.000+02:00

Fantasy XII: Stonework Archaeologica

Brief: Portray a scene with an ancient weathered structure. Ideally it should be intriguing, ancient, isolated, quite large, from some undetermined culture, and made of some durable material (stone, old wood, crystal, masonry, bronze etc). The environment is up to you, but should mesh well with the structure, and any optional life forms present.

Work in Progress

Closeup of the Dragon

Sources

I'm actually quite happy with the way this one came out.

It was a very last minute decision to actually participate this month, giving me about a week to do it. As usual, it took a few days to find a useable concept, and in the end it was the wonderful perspective of the bridge that inspired me. (The fact that I recently found a few episodes of the old Gargoyles animated series on YouTube might also have had something to do with it. It was definitely the inspiration for the title)

Finding source pictures that fit into that perspective...well, let's just say I truly considered starting over quite a few times. Luckily, atmospheric colour saved me in quite a few places.

When the castle was finally done to my satisfaction, the image still needed something, a focus point of some sort. Thus happened the dragon.

It's strange, my very first dragon took about a week to finish, and I'm still not completely satisfied with her. I made this one in less than a day, but I think his overall look is much more consistent. His face could use a bit more work, but overall, I'm pretty proud of him.

Final Score: 8.315

Dressing Up

2006-10-06T04:10:00.000+02:00

Normally, there is never enough opportunities to really dress up, so when Anton's sister decided to hold a costume party for her 30th birthday, we had to do something completely crazy. It was established early on that make-up or bodypaint of some sort would have to be involved, but it took a few nights of brainstorming before we found the perfect characters.

Nightcrawler for Anton, Mystique for JeAnette and Illyria for me. (Blue sounded like a really good idea at the time, ok.)

Nightcrawler

2006-10-06T04:05:00.000+02:00

Anton's Nightcrawler costume was probably the most complicated.

The tail was created from a wire framework, covered in blue material and stuffed. I think they weighed the tip down with a tube of glue or something. It was attached to his body with a complicated rig of hardboard, wire, fish line and bandages. (Trust a paramedic to do that)

JeA made the hands and feet, and added yellow mogde podged nails. The ears came from a costume shop and was just spray painted blue. We managed to make his hair with a mixture of Brylcream and black powdered paint. Amazingly, the Brylcream also made his hair curl, which was definitely a bonus. His face was just blue facepaint with detail in white pencil.

Mystique

2006-10-06T04:03:00.000+02:00

Mystique was a lot of fun to do. For the hair we used bright red Bulldog Colour Power Gel and some more Brylcream. We used blue facepaint on her face, but it took a long time to get an even colour, and since time was running out, we switched to blue fabric paint for her neck, arms and feet.

Her shirt was originally turqoise and black, so it first had to be covered with a layer of white pvc before it could be painted blue. It became very stiff upon drying and we had to wet it before she could put it on again, but as it dried it took on her body shape perfectly. All the scales were drawn on afterwards.

Illyria

2006-10-06T04:01:00.000+02:00

Compared to the other two, my preparations were fairly simple, but I was quite pleased with the result. Just a few blue streaks sprayed on my hair and blue eyeshadow or eyeliner for everything else, and I was ready to go.

The last photo was taken after the party, while I was putting the finishing touches on this. (The deadline was 6:00 the next morning)

The Great Coarse Acting Show

2006-10-04T08:01:00.000+02:00

The coarse actor : One who can perhaps remember his lines, but certainly not the order in which they come…he has a desperate desire to impress, is most anxious to succeed, but is hampered by one minor detail – the inability to act.

The Great Coarse Acting Show is a look into the brave world of badly done, amateur dramatics. It comprises of several one act plays including such fantastic modern classics like Murder on the Trans-Siberian Express, A Tale of Two Cities, Aladdin and Phantom Cat Opera Star.

The plays attempt to emulate facets of a fine dramatic performance, and come sadly short once everything has marred them beyond hope of redemption – from the failure of props to falling scenery, from over-acting to under-acting.
Simply put, if anything can go wrong, it does!

Papercut

2006-08-14T11:11:00.000+02:00

Peter Callesen is a Danish sculptor who creates the most amazing sculptures out of single sheets of A4 paper.

His work is inspired by fairytales and romanticism, exploring the relationship between 2 and 3 dimensionality, between image and reality.

"I find the materialization of a flat piece of paper into a 3D form as an almost magic process - or maybe one could call it obvious magic, because the process is obvious and the figures still stick to their origin, without the possibility of escaping. In that sense there is as well an aspect of something tragic in most of the cuts."

A few extra pics can be found here and here.

Lost Season 2 Finale - "Live Together, Die Alone"

2006-08-10T10:25:00.000+02:00

For some strange reason, that falling Quarantine hatch cover really reminded me of 'The Truman Show'. (The falling light marked 'Sirius')
Then there is Michael having to sail away in a very specific angle (325 degrees) to be able to leave the island and that he wouldn't be able to ever find his way back again. Desmond said that he sailed straight west for 2 and a half weeks and just landed up back at the island. Very reminiscent of an enclosed globe.

At least we do now know that the outside world does still exist.

So, 'Henry Gale' seems to be the leader of the others. The mysterious 'Him' that was referred to in previous episodes with respect and more than a little fear. That would explain why he was so good at subtly manipulating Locke and Jack. Also why the others would be willing to give up Walt in order to get him back. That is, if they are actually planning on just letting Michael and Walt leave. The coordinates they gave him can just as easily lead to another facility.

Henry did mention that he was there to get Locke, but it could very well have been just another lie. But if Henry is as important as they would like us to believe, why would he go there alone? Or allow himself to get captured? Could this be connected to why the others had to bribe Michael to rescue him? Perhaps only certain members of the others are able to go to the beach. Because of the infection?

Jack, Kate and Sawyer. Why them? Is there anything that links them other than the obvious love triangle?
The only thing I can think of is the fact that they've all seem some kind of vision / hallucination. Jack saw his father, Kate and Sawyer both saw her black horse and Sawyer had the boar (not sure if it really qualifies, but he did see the horse). Actually Hurley also had a hallucination, he saw Dave.

Of course there were other characters who also had supernatural experiences, but I think they can be eliminated. With Charlie, Eko, Locke and even Claire, what they saw came in dreams. Also, I don't think the black smoke / security system or the voices qualifies, so that excludes Sayid too. The only others that had hallucinations we know about was Boone and Shannon, but they're both gone now.

The Others supposedly takes the 'good' people. But Sawyer and Kate really doesn't qualify in a traditional sense. People like Sun and Rose would be much likelier candidates. Eko was on their list at one stage, but they don't seem to want him anymore. The fact that he killed 2 of them could very well be the reason.

Henry once again claims that "We're the good guys", but it is still unclear what that exactly means. Again, this is a situation where we will have to wait until we see things from their point of view and learn what their motivations are.

What is wrong with Charlie? I suppose I could be concussion from the explosion, but why is he so unconcerned about Locke and Eko? He even told Claire that nothing had happened. His whole attitude is puzzling. Could it be the effects of the EMP?

I wonder what is happening to Sayid. He did manage to light a fire, so it is improbable that he is captured too, but the music in his last scene in the abandoned camp was pretty ominous.

The Widmore Company that Penny's father owns is the same company that made the pregnancy test that Sun used, the construction company Michael may have worked for. There was also a banner for it near the soundstage Charlie's commercial was being shot and they sponsored real Henry Gale's balloon.
Charles Widmore might have set up the race in order to trap Desmond on the island and thus keep him away from his daughter. It could also explain how Penelope knows to look for some sort of magnetic signal to find Desmond.

We finally got a time and date for the crash: 922044:16. September 22, 2004, at 4:16 am.
Libby was a blonde on the Island, a brunette in the hospital, and in Desmond's flashback, she was a redhead.
Desmond's full name is Desmond David Hume. David Hume was also a philosopher.
The Hurley-Bird is back.
The hieroglyphics on the countdown indicator loosely translate to "death."
Penelope's name could be a reference to Odysseus wife in the Iliad and the Odyssey. She faithfully waited 20 years for him to return after the Trojan War, despite constant pressure from other suitors
We finally see the Pala Ferry mentioned in the Pearl Station training video.
Sayid: "I don't know what is more disquieting: the fact that the rest of the statue is missing, or that it has four toes."

Storm

2006-08-01T10:27:00.000+02:00

It is only the first day of August, spring isn't even in sight yet, but we get a thunderstorm.

A real, blustery, water everywhere, thunderstorm. In the middle of winter.

But I should have expected it.

I washed my car just yesterday...

24

2006-06-20T11:30:00.000+02:00

I have now officially been here for 24 years.

Feel free to have some of my decadently delicious chocolate birthday cake on your way out.

We Will Rock You

2006-06-13T10:03:00.000+02:00

“The year is 2023. Globalisation has taken its toll. All musical instruments are banned. Everywhere the kids watch the same movies, wear the same fashions and think the same thoughts. It's a safe, happy Ga Ga world. Unless you're a rebel. Unless you want to rock.”

We Will Rock You is a lavish rock musical featuring 32 of Queen's greatest hits as well as a spectacular all South African cast (many of them fresh from last year's Chicago).

Written by Ben Elton (writer of series like Blackadder and Thin Blue Line) , the plot might not be the best part of the show, but it is full of hilarious jabs at the music industry. Anyway, most of the audience didn't care too much about the plot, they were there to be dazzled by the sound and drama of Queen's music.

It is a visual feast with weird and fantastical costumes, frantic lighting and huge screens in the background whose constant animations and live feeds give life to this highly artificial and computerised world.

But what impressed me the most, was the quality of the cast. Vicky Sampson is great as the larger-than-life 'Killer Queen', but it was the vocal talents of Helen Burger as Scaramouche that really impressed me. Murray Todd (Britney) and Talia Kodesh (Oz) is also impressive with their spot-on comedic timing and a flamboyant, but highly confident, stage performance.

The all-local band supporting the actors are also top-notch and you won't be blamed if you think on occasion that they are using the original music for backing tracks. But it's all live.

Bloodthirsty Lizard

2006-06-06T11:14:00.000+02:00

A recent visit to the Hartebeespoort Dam Snake and Animal Park led to the discovery of a rather unusual sign.

(I apologise for the really awful quality of the photo. I forgot my camera at home and had to make do with my cellphone)

EASTERN BLUE TONGUED LIZARD
Tiliqua scincoides

A common lizard in Eastern Australia growing to a maximum length of over 30cm. Aptly named because of their tongues which is bright blue in colour. They kill many people on a regular basis by attacking motor vehicles travelling at high speeds. If you come across this lizard in your car and do not wish to be killed - slow down and act dead! Their diet consists of cars and occasionally they attack trucks as well. By now you are well aware that you are not safe standing here looking at this vicious animal for it can easily break through the 5mm viewing glass - have a nice day!

It is definitely a prank, but whether it was done by the staff or a by visitor remains a mystery.
After all, how many people really read much more than the name if the animal inside looks like this?

Shattered!

2006-05-24T01:36:00.000+02:00

I absolutely hate that sinking feeling that follows the discovery of a mess of little glass pieces on the pavement beside your car. Unfortunately it is all too familiar.

At least I learned from last time. While everything inside my car was turned upside down, nothing was actually taken, if only because there was absolutely nothing to take.

Thankfully, my lovely, 2 week old CD player is still there (it took me about 6 months to replace the previous one), but they broke a big window this time, so it's still not very cheap to replace.

What a lovely start to a day...

Star Wars Mural

2006-05-16T00:19:00.000+02:00

As evidenced by some of my previous posts, I work for a company, and more specifically, a boss who is rather obsessed with Star Wars.
Now, to complete the assimilation of anybody brave enough to venture into our offices, the entire back wall sports a massive Star Wars mural as well.

The whole thing took Charl and Melanie about 2 weeks to complete, and it really looks spectacular. It is highly amusing to see the looks on people's faces when they see it for the first time.

The initial idea was to have a single scene that covered the whole wall, but since we couldn't find any scene that would work well enough, we settled on a collage of the 3 original movies.

The wall is a bit too big to fit onto just one photo, so here it is broken up into the different movies:

A few closeups:

Tristan & Isolde

2006-05-12T10:32:00.000+02:00

I don't really understand why, but I just didn't enjoy Tristan & Isolde as much as I hoped I would. I wanted to like it, I really did. It had all the right elements - an epic story, a beautiful medieval setting, sword fights and a director that has a flair for costume dramas (The Count of Monte Cristo), but by the end I just felt a bit, well, apathetic I suppose. It's like I just didn't really care what happened to most of the characters.

The one notable exception was Rufus Sewell's Lord Marke. I'm so used to him playing the stereotypical villain, that the sympathetic nature of his character as well as his tender yet powerful portrayal here was a pleasant surprise.

I didn't really know much about the story going in, except that it is compared to Romeo & Juliet and is also a Wagner opera, and thus would probably have a suitably tragic ending. This version deviates somewhat from the original, but that is to be expected, since there is so many versions of the legend already. It goes for a more 'historical' approach, similar to 'King Arthur', and dispenses with all the magical/mystical elements.

Perhaps the problem was the lead actor, James Franco. I actually noticed his accent faltering at stages (usually I'm too engrossed in the story to notice things like that on a first viewing) and even though he looked the part, he just didn't have enough screen presence or charisma to carry a big film like this. He was just too stoic. I think in the end, Melot's death had a bigger impact on me than Tristan's. That can't be right, can it?
However, I did enjoy Thomas Sangster as the young Tristan.

Another thing that bothered me was the music. It wasn't necessarily bad, it was just completely unmemorable. I honestly can't even remember there being any music, other than in the dancing scenes. I know that a lack of music can be very powerful, the shining examples being 'Before Sunset' and the Buffy episode 'The Body', but epics like this needs a powerful score. In some movies the music plays as important a part as any of the actors, leaving the main theme spinning in your head for hours after the end credits have rolled. Here that grandness is just missing, taking with it a lot of the emotion.

One thing that really bothered me was the fact there is no known antidote to pufferfish poison, tetrodotoxin. It does cause paralysis and hypotension (low blood pressure), so a victim could appear dead, but this is also usually followed by respiratory failure, so it is unlikely that they would survive in that state for very long. I'm also not too sure how a medieval Irish warrior would have obtained such a poison.

Another thing is that the early medieval timeframe for the movie makes it impossible for Isolde to be able to read John Donne's "The Good Morrow," since it is a work of the 17th century.

I'm sure the movie might not be as bad as this review is making it seem. My hopes for a film to equal the likes of Gladiator and Braveheart was just misplaced, and because of that the problems in the production just bothered me more than usual. Oh, well.

Samorost

2006-04-26T01:22:00.000+02:00

Samorost is a delightful point and click adventure about a tiny space gnome trying to save his home from an approaching asteroid.
The art is beautifully bizarre and somewhat reminiscent of Monty Python.

It was originally created by Jakub Dvorsky as his final thesis project. The word 'Samorost' in Czech means a root or piece of wood, which resembles a creature; but it is also a term for a person who doesn't care about rest of the world.

The art of the sequel, Samorost 2 , is even prettier. It's very polished and completely intriguing. Unfortunately only the first chapter is free, but it is definitely worth it.

Robbie Williams

2006-04-18T03:43:00.000+02:00

It was so incredibly worth it!

Say what you like about him, but Robbie Williams is a master entertainer. From trying to break a few interesting 'World Records' to regaling the audience with his version of Blue Steel, the Horny Giraffe, he had the crowd of 61 000 at his finger tips, and he played them to perfection. (I just have to wonder how many people actually got the Zoolander reference.)

With a mix of old classics like Let Me Entertain You, Rock DJ and Angels and newer hits like Advertising Space and Come Undone, he could just do no wrong.

I was also really impressed with the sound of opening act Freshly Ground.

99 Rooms

2006-03-07T03:55:00.000+02:00

99 Rooms is an internet art project that interweaves wall painting, photography, animation and sound.

It stemmed from the mystical, often apolocalyptically charming pictures created by Berlin artist Kim Köster within the countless vacated premises of East Berlin‘s industrial sector. The often eerie soundtrack just adds to the amazingly atmospheric experience.

Lost 2/02 - "Adrift"

2006-03-02T03:24:00.000+02:00

The fate of the raft survivors was one of the biggest cliffhangers last season, and the scenes between Michael and Sawyer is the highlight of the episode.

Michael is a bit of a weak character. He is mostly defined by his relationship to Walt, and now that Walt is missing, he is at a loss about what to do. His flashbacks fills in a few gaps, but they don't really bring any new information. The only intriguing part is that the polar bear once again appears in connection to Walt (his soft toy) .

Sawyer never ceases to surprise. Initially he was one of the most unlikeable characters there, but as the first season progressed, he turned into one of the most intriguing (Second only to Locke, who became incredibly creepy closert to the end) Here, he rescues Michael and give him mouth to mouth. He is the one that realises 'the others' were after Walt all along. He is also the only one worrying over Jin's whereabouts. Not really consistent with the uncaring-bad-guy image he likes to project.

For that matter, what did happen to Jin? At the end of last season, it appeared like he was diving after the injured Sawyer, but here he just disappeared. How did he arrive on the island so much sooner than the other 2? Why was he tied up, and who is the creepy looking people in the background?

I wasn't too fond of the rehashing of last week's scenes. We did get new info, but the pacing of the episode suffered a bit. I don't mind the change in perspective, but I don't think they really needed to reshow so much of the previous scenes. It just didn't feel neccesary.

A lot of Desmond’s comments were very interesting in light of Rousseau’s comments during the first season. He was rather shocked to discover that the rest of the world was still around, which again suggests that the injection in the previous episode was all about protecting himself from whatever infected the research ship's crew. It also makes sense that the “security system” was put in place to stop anyone from getting into the hatch and exposing those inside.

Desmond is actually a lot like fellow island exile Rousseau. He has been on this island for a long time (the numerous marks on the wall attest to that), and having to enter this code every 108 minutes has obviously affected his sleep patterns, which would totally warp his mindset. Add the isolation from being down in the hatch to that and we can see how Desmond changed from the way he was in Jack’s flashback. It makes you wonder what Rousseau was like before her crew was shipwrecked.

Jetsam & Flotsam:

Sawyer: "What you gonna do? Splash me?"

Loved Kate's expression when she tasted the chocolate.

Sawyer referred to the island as home.

The Numbers are a deactivation code, which resets the timer to 108, the sum of the Numbers.

The logo that appears on all the food and Desmond's uniform also shows up on the fin of the shark. Another 'security system'?

Apparently this ep was originally supposed to have Sawyer-based flashbacks.

Lost 2/01 - "Man of Science, Man of Faith"

2006-02-23T06:24:00.000+02:00

So, after a very long wait, we're finally back on the island. I've tried my best to stay as spoiler-free as possible, and with the exception of knowing about the new cast members, I actually succeeded.

I liked it, even if it felt more like a normal episode than a season opener. It focuses on Jack, and in a certain sense, he becomes both the man of science and the man of faith of the title.

The hatch is open, but it's contents is unexpected. Who could have guessed that there is actually someone living there in 60/70's style splendour? Or that it would be a person that Jack knew 'in another life'? And how long has he been there? It couldn't have been that long (well not 30 years) if he met Jack when he was already a specialist. But that is only if you assume that their encounter was completely real, and not leaning a bit more to the Shannon/Walt meeting in this episode.

The quarantine warning reminds me of the supposed sickness that Danielle's crew contracted. Could that be what the massive injection was for, or is it just an immune booster?

In the flashbacks, we once again meet Sarah, Jack's (ex?) wife. Is there any connection between Sara's miraculous recovery and Locke's? Especially since Desmond was in the vicinity both times?

The man who died in the car crash was Adam Rutherford, aged 57. Could it possibly be Shannon's father? Sarah also mentioned she was en route to get some things for her wedding. Boone ran a business that provided wedding supplies, so it could add even more weight to the theory. After all, there seems to be very few coincidences on Lost.

Flotsam & Jetsam:

Once again, the episode opens with an eye, this time belonging to Desmond.
When the soaking wet Walt appears to Shannon, he appears to speak gibberish. Apparently if that scene is played backwards, he says: "[Don't] press the button...[the button is bad]". This definitely follows the storyline, since Jack was about to press the 'Execute' button at the end of the episode.
The vial Desmond was shooting up had "CR 4-81516-23 42" on it.
Hurley finally told Jack his long story about the numbers and the lottery, and all Jack heard was, "You were in a psych ward?"
There was a powerful magnet in the bunker. Has to be important. Did it have anything to do with the plane crash? Or Rousseau's shipwreck for that matter?
Hurley: "Life's not so bad, right? I mean, sure, the Others are coming to, like, eat us all, and every once in awhile someone blows up all over you, but we do get to sleep in every morning."

The Scribbler

2006-02-09T06:35:00.000+02:00

A cool way to waste 20 minutes, The Scribbler lets you jot down a quick sketch and then takes over to create weird and wonderful things like this creature above.

10 points to the first person who can actually guess what it is!

Maria

2006-01-30T01:27:00.000+02:00

Finally, I have a decent picture of my brand new niece, Maria Anspach.

She was born early Monday morning the 16th January, 4 days short of her due date, and late enough in January to satisfy her mother, who had been spending the preceding few weeks practising all known birth delay techniques, to ensure that D-day would be suitable for school terms, birthday parties, etc.

So far, she is one of the happiest and most peaceful babies I have ever seen.

Book sales are evil!

2006-01-27T07:34:00.000+02:00

I am such a sucker for cheap books.

EB's big summer sales are one of the worst things if you are on a tight budget.
I always spend way too much time and money there.

And there is a very good chance that I'm going back later, since I know that all the books weren't unpacked yet when I got there yesterday.

Still, where else am I going to get books at an average of R35 each?

The only problem now is that I urgently need a new bookshelf.
Mine are both officially full now.

The day after

2006-01-25T11:51:00.000+02:00

Prison Break was really cool. I'm pretty sure it will become a favourite rather quickly. I also think that Mnet was smart in their promotion of it - building up quite a hype, lots of different teasers, ect. But they still only used scenes out of the first ep as far as I could tell, so none of the actual story was spoiled.

Nip/Tuck was very weird as usual, but it was a satisfying conclusion to the cliffhanger ending of the last season. I very much liked the doctor/patient parallels, something that ER has also been doing a lot lately.

Now for Veronica Mars tonight. I'm very excited, because I've only heard good things about it from a lot of the Buffy fans out there, including Joss Whedon.

Tonight

2006-01-24T01:05:00.000+02:00

I can't wait!

Prison Break, Weeds and Nip/Tuck Season 3 are all starting tonight, with Veronica Mars joining them tomorrow night.

And we only have to wait one more month for Lost and Alias to start again.

Yay for Mnet!

Polite Request

2006-01-18T04:49:00.000+02:00

To all the short, curly black hairs on top of my head who refuse to even consider growing in the same direction as the rest of my hair after each wash:

Please cease and desist with immediate effect, or else you will be forcibly removed.

Thank you.

The end of Carnivale

2006-01-17T07:15:00.000+02:00

I watched the final episode of Carnivale last night.
It was one of the most facinating shows on TV and I'm really going to miss it, especially since the network didn't even bother to provide it's fans with a proper ending.

Why is it that the best shows are usualy the ones being cancelled way before their time, (yes, I am talking about Angel and Firefly) while some of the crappy reality shows continue ad infinitum?

I suppose in the end it all comes down to money. After all, why would a network spend $4 million on a single episode of a great show, when they could make half a reality show for the same amount. Yay, capitalism.

So long, Serenity

2005-12-05T07:15:00.000+02:00

It's official.

At the last minute the distributors of Serenity decided not to release it in South Africa at all! Both Nu Metro and Ster Kinekor confirmed it.

After the huge marketing campaigns they launched everywhere else, they not only don't bother to do any marketing here, but they also decide we're not allowed to see it on the big screen.

Excuse me as I go and fume in the corner...

Signs of life

2005-12-02T08:08:00.000+02:00

I know I have been very quiet lately.

No, I wasn't kidnapped by a bunch of rogueish, yet charmingly sexy pirates who forced me to wear tight bodices and survive on nothing but skilly 'n duff and seaweed grog.

Nor did aliens abduct me to perform strange, and surprisingly kinky, experiments on my shining example of a human brain.

I didn't even find a magical wardrobe that led into a fantastical world where I had lots of wonderful adventures and later returned wiser and more mature than before. That will only happen on the 18th.

It did involve a dragon though.

The biggest reason is probably Worth1000. They actually convinced me to spend ridiculous amounts of time doing things like this and this. But it's a lot of fun. And probably one of the first times in my life where I am doing arty/creative things because I actually enjoy it, and not just because it is part of some assignment or project.

Another reason is my recent discovery of the wonderful world of webcomics. I found the first one while doing research for my dragon picture, and now I'm hooked!
I've always been facinated by manga and comic book art, but it just never really occurred to me to follow the next logical step and start drawing it myself. I do like the colouring part, just not really the drawing from scratch.

Anyway, here is a few of the prettiest ones in case somebody is interested.

Fallen - Sadly, it is not being updated at the moment, but I live in hope, since I'm completely in love with the sketchy style of the later pages.

Inverloch - Also on hiatus for a bit, but it's getting published next year, so it should be back soon. Beautiful, full-colour pages.

Juathuur - B &W, but it actually updates 7 days a week!

The Saga of Eruune - Strange story, but a very unique, avant-gardey style with lots of intricate linework.

Redemption - Some of the pages are being redone in a much cleaner, stylised way, but I still like the rough scratchy originals.

New Lifeforms

2005-10-24T09:49:00.000+02:00

This 3D animation is absolutely amazing!

“Sixes Last” was created by 1st Ave Machine as a music video for the artist Alias.

"It is about how artificiality is creeping into the modern day world. We were looking at a merge between synthetic biology, nanotechnology, artificial intelligence and what could spawn from them."

The style is great and I'm really impressed with their ability to motion track with the moving camera, so that technology and nature blend together seamlessly.

Some of the creatures even reminded me of the plant life in 'The Dark Crystal'!

Pastel Morning

2005-10-21T06:48:00.000+02:00

There must have been a huge veldfire somewhere in our vicinity last night. The smoky, but not unpleasant, smell of burning grass was everywhere.

This morning, the smoke had settled down into a hazy blanket, covering the Moreletapark valley. As the sun rose* it became more and more rosy in hue until it became a giant piece of surreal candyfloss**. On the other side of the road, the hill that houses a big part of Constantiapark was slowly turning into a powder blue fortress.
It truly felt like I was stuck in a Pierneef painting.

* I think it is wonderful that I can finally drive to work in the morning and see where I'm going again. It just makes the day feel so much shorter, and it even gives the illusion that I'm actually getting more sleep.

** I love candyfloss. My biggest achievement this weekend was in discovering that Safari Garden Centre actually sells freshly made candyfloss over the weekends. There is nothing like it. The smell. The delicious stickyness. Yum.
Those stale balls of flavoured fluff in little plastic bags just can't compare. And there is always the uncomfortable question as to who actually blew up those bags.

Serenity is coming!

2005-09-29T10:03:00.000+02:00

After ages of looking for and not finding any information on when Serenity in coming to South Africa, the nice people at Nu Metro were kind enough to let me know that it is due for release on 18 November!

I still have a bit of waiting to do, but I'm just so excited!

(Just in case you don't know, Serenity is based on the Joss Whedon TV series, Firefly.)

Rockin' Cinderella

2005-09-08T09:05:00.000+02:00

If you are in Pretoria this weekend, go and check out Rockin' Cinderella - a brand new rock opera written by my brother and his best friend!

The Cinderella story is transformed into a sexy, cool production featuring a live band, singers and dancers. A 70's style “Cindy” (played by Shaia Wolf of Isidingo fame) encounters characters both cruel and comical as she progresses through a production packed with superb jazz and rock ‘n roll music written for the show.

They have been working on it for more than a year now, so it is great to finally see the finished product.

Aaaaarg!

2005-08-26T06:17:00.000+02:00

Deep breath. Relax. Focus...

After happily leaving work at 3, it took me 2 and a half hours to get home today.
2 and a half hot, frustrating, wasted hours of driving an average of 10km/h on the highway.
At one point we were moving so slowly that one of the pamphlet hawkers from the traffic light at the off ramp wandered onto the middle of the highway to entice us with notices of happy hours and half price ladies' nights.

The reason for all this inertia? A "Crime Prevention Operation" spread across all three lanes, in both directions, in Friday afternoon rush hour traffic! At least, that is what the traffic reports on the radio called it. I guess they reasoned that there would be a drop in crime if everybody was stuck in traffic.

By the time I had managed to crawl to the point of origin, they weren't even there anymore! All that was left of the operation was a single police car and 4 bright red port-a-potty's, so I couldn't even yell at them for making me miss my Hiphop class.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

2005-08-11T00:14:00.000+02:00

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a wholly remarkable film. It is the most remarkable, certainly the most successful (albeit the only) film ever to come out of the great production company that was DNA. It has been in "development hell" for more than two decades and was finally green lit shortly after Douglas Adams' untimely death.

Of course, all the lines I had hoped for wasn't in there. That would be impossible and probably not that much fun to watch anyway. There is some new material too, but after all, each incarnation is expected to blatantly contradict it's predecessor. The main thing is that it is still Douglas Adams' script, and it shows.

This is definitely a film for fans and it's not extremely newbie friendly, but since I am a huge fan this did not bother me one bit and even gave me a little bit of smug satisfaction at 'getting' it.

Martin Freeman is an inspired choice as the face of a slightly bewildered Arthur Dent, but that was obvious from the start. I was a bit concerned when I heard Mos Def was playing Ford, but now I'm convinced. He was great! And Alan Rickman providing his nasal drones to Marvin the Paranoid Android worked to near perfection.

I loved the jumpy earth to space pullback which unveils the immensity of the planet-trashing Vogon fleet hanging there exactly like bricks don't. And then the earth disappeared with a 'Whomp'

There is an Apple logo on the side of Deep Thought.
The Heart of Gold looks like a webcam.
Douglas Adams' nose is used as decoration in Humma Kavula's office.
Those poor jeweled crabs!

I know there is a lot of bad or luke warm reviews of this movie, but I loved it. Yes it has a slow pace and some of it is highly indulgent - but it's almost impossible not to get caught up in the infectious madness that shimmies across the screen.

And 'Don't Panic' will undoubtedly be written in large friendly letters on the cover of my DVD set when I get it.

Women's Day

2005-08-10T03:57:00.000+02:00

Yesterday was just a really great day.

I was awoken by the the sun creeping lazily over my bed - no horrible renditions of 'Sugarplum Fairy' to scare me into consciousness. Then after a nice languid cup of tea and a few pages of Waifs and Strays, it was off to Brooklyn to take advantage of half price Tuesday at Ster Kinekor.

We ended up watching first Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (A lot of fun) and then The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Even better). Inbetween we went to the new Chocolaterie (yes, almost like the one in Chocolat) to have huge mugs of the most devine hot chocolate I have ever tasted (basically hot milk with what tasted like hazelnut truffles melted in it). After all, what else are you supposed to drink after watching so much melted chocolate on screen?

This was followed by cocktails at Java Café with some friends, that turned into hashbrowns and java coffe (filter coffee with condensed milk), that turned into caramel cheesecake ... yum.

That night we even had a rainstorm - which means that spring is probably on it's way!

And like the ad said 'Absence of a National Men's Day - Priceless!'

Doggie Doodles

2005-08-02T02:25:00.000+02:00

This is what happens when a 2 hour power cut created such boredom at work that doodles of toiletpaper puppies was my only relief.
Afterwards we resorted to making paper airplanes and trying to see if they could reach the balcony on the building opposite ours.

At least I was able to take away the awful blue lines that was on the only paper I could find, so he looks a bit better now.

Lost Season 1 Finale

2005-07-28T02:41:00.000+02:00

Once again, don't read if you don't want any spoilers, 'kay!

Well, that was some journey. And no destination in sight either! I thought they were going to give us some answers, but now, in true JJ Abrams style, we are left with even more questions.
It was shocking and intense and managed to keep the tension taut right up to the end. Yes, we didn't get all the answers we were looking for, but at least we know that there will soon be another season.

Arzt explosive demise was as unexpected as it was called for. He was being so excruciatingly patronising to the others. My sister insists that I knew he was going to die, since I told her he was probably a red shirt during the previous episode, (and then had to explain to her in detail what that meant) but that still didn't mean my tea didn't nearly end up in my lap when it happened!

Hurley: "You got some... Arzt... on you."

The monster sounds distinctly mechanical. That really gives some credence to it's security system role. It also appears to move mainly underground, and it was really trying hard to take Locke down with it. This makes the fact that the hatch leads down into a long tunnel even more sinister. Locke has been desperately trying to open it for some time now. He believes that 'hope' is inside it. But just like Pandora's box, the opening of the hatch could also release a whole range of suffering on the survivors. The presence of Hurley's numbers can attest to that.

Hurley's numbers. They were everywhere, especially in his flashback. I still wonder how many people actually used them to play the lotto after they were revealed the first time.

The most touching scene was definitely when Sawyer told Jack about meeting his father and the way Jack struggled so hard to control his emotions because of it. And this said, Sawyer's death wish had better not come true! He is turning out to be one on the most interesting characters on the island.

I liked the way the last few flashbacks started converging. They brought everything full circle, just ready to start again. But I wonder why Claire didn't get her own flashback too?

It was a young blond girl that tossed the Molotov cocktail onto the raft. Could that be Alex?
Charlie did take a statue full of heroin. I just hope he doesn't start using it.
What exactly was Danielle's involvement in Claire's kidnapping? Was she trying to help or stop her?
Jack is not married anymore. What happened?
Hurley was reading the spanish comic with the polar bear in it on the plane.
The Black Rock is a slave ship. How on earth did it get there?
Who is the 'Others'? They have a boat, so they must be there voluntarily. And why would they want Walt?

I really don't want to wait so long to find out the answers!

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

2005-07-20T08:10:00.000+02:00

If you haven't finished the book yet, or if you intend to read it at any time in the foreseeable future, do not read this post! It will contain spoilers, no matter how obtuse I try to be. For me, most of the charm and excitement in reading comes from not knowing what is going to happen, and I would not want to spoil this experience for anybody.

I don't like this book anymore!

Yes, I realize that this is not really true, but I only finished the book a few hours ago and I'm still a bit emotional about it. Ok, fine. I cried my eyes out. Satisfied? (The fact that I get so worked up about fictional characters belongs to another post entirely.)

Love is much more important to Rowling than magic. The real mystery, for her, is the human heart. She has always been more interested in the hand that wields the wand, the way the enchantment illuminates the wizard who casts it. (Time)

The main theme of the book is love. Both requited and un-, misplaced, perverted, denied, repressed and obsessive. It causes humour and tragedy. And the ultimate sacrifice.

The pace of the book is not nearly as frantic as some of its predecessors, at least for the most part, but the overall tone is darker. Harry is growing up, and his world is changing fast. It becomes common practice over breakfast for them to ask if anybody they know had been killed.

Harry is no longer the tiny 11 year old that viewed his new world with so much excitement and wonder. By the end he is not even the moody and angry teenager from book 5 anymore (this is a good thing, all the yelling was getting rather tiresome).

An interesting theory about this sudden maturity is that Harry's mood swings was caused by his connection to Voldemort. If he was feeling Voldy's emotions and even entering his mind, then it makes sense that some of Voldy's ever-present anger must have been having an effect on Harry's temperment in general. Since Voldemort started using Occlumency against Harry, he has become much more level-headed. Most of the time anyway.

There is also the intriguing backstory of Tom Riddle. Voldemort is no longer just a scary, but mysterious force somewhere in the background. To have his fleshed out like this, with his obsessive and manipulative personality explored, he is suddenly much more terrifying. More grounded in real life, and thus closer to home.

Until right at the end the title did not really make any obvious sense. But with the prince's identity revealed, it is suddenly cast in a whole new light. The book is about Harry and the prince, and his ultimate betrayal.

So, is Snape evil? I'm not sure. All the evidence seems to point that way. Harry finally has proof that his suspicions have been valid all along. But there is just this little nagging feeling in the back of my head that tells me we have not heard the full story yet. Either way he is a really good liar. Maybe I just don't want to believe that Dumbledore could have made such a fatal error. But I'm sure it will be adressed in the last book.

MA: OK, big big big book six question. Is Snape evil?

JKR: Well, okay, I'm obviously – Harry-Snape is now as personal, if not more so, than Harry-Voldemort. I can't answer that question because it's a spoiler, isn't it, whatever I say, and obviously, it has such a huge impact on what will happen then they meet again that I can't. (Mugglenet)

Dumbledore... There were hints of course, and not just in this book, but I still believed or at least hoped that he would be the one person that would be there to help Harry in the end, even if he did not survive himself. I was waiting for it to be a ruse or some kind of clever plan on his part right up to the end.

And not returning to Hogwarts next year? The next book has the makings of a 'treasure' hunt adventure. Since Harry is coming of age in July, there will also be a lot less limitations on the place he can go. At least we know that Harry won't be completely alone. Jo has hinted that a reasonably unknown member of the Order of the Phoenix will be playing a mayor part. And there is always the mysterious R.A.B.

Edit: It just occurred to me. Dumbledore said the the post of DADA teacher has been cursed ever since Tom Riddle applied for it. No teacher has lasted longer than a year. What then was Dumbledore's reasoning in giving the post to Snape? Did he suspect that Snape would be leaving them?

New Look

2005-07-15T02:50:00.000+02:00

My blog will be exactly one year old next week and that's as good a reason as any for a bit of a change.

I was getting tired of having such a dark blog, so I decided to lighten things up a little.

I can't believe it has been a whole year already!

Tri-facto

2005-06-30T11:02:00.000+02:00

Didn't I just do one of these? Well you can thank him for this bit of fluffy posting.

3 screen names I've had - This is pretty much it, unless you count MSN names. We have weeklong MSN themes at work, so lately I have been Trypanophobia (Phobia week), Dame Marjorie Elinor Abercrombie (British sounding names week) and Bibliosaurus (Dinosaur week)
3 things I like about myself - My ability to remember arbitrary facts about books and movies, my laughter and my hands.
3 things I don't like about myself - All the weight I gained since I started working, my tendency to leave things to the last minute and the fact that I am sometimes too introverted.
3 parts of my heritage - My whole family has brown hair and brown eyes, DF Malherbe (old Afrikaans poet) is my great uncle or something and the farm my grandfather grew up on was called 'Daggafontein' (lit. marijuana fountain)
3 things that scare me - Any sound that I hear at night in bed and can't immediately identify (courtesy of our friendly neigbourhood burglar's visit a while back), taxi's (mthe South African kind, not the yellow ones) and for some reason, scorpions (but I'm fine with other creepy crawlies, and even wanted to become an entomologist at one stage)
3 of my everyday essentials - Watch, bottle of water, and purse.
3 things I'm wearing right now - Black boots, Denim jacket, and my pretty, new birthday-present-necklace.
3 of my favourite songs - Thanks to my little niece, the only songs in my head at the moment is 'Ek is 'n eensame krokodil', 'Almal dra 'n jas' and 'Kamalielies'. (Hakka hakka, hiekie hiekie ... eeek! Stop it!)
3 things I want in a relationship - Laughter, hugs and lots of dancing.
2 truths and a lie - I have eaten a stink bug, I have eaten offal, I have eaten baked beans on toast.
3 things I can't do without - Books, chocolate, sleep.
3 places I want to go on vacation - Pretty much anywhere I haven't been before, but the top 3 at the moment is Paris, Barcelona and London.
3 things I just can't do - Read this.
3 kids names - NOT relevant anywhere in the near future.
things I want to do before you die - Again, read this.
3 celeb crushes - So many to choose from. Christian Bale (I liked him way before he became famous), Dominic Monaghan (first in LOTR, now in Lost) and Heath Ledger (the smile, mmm)

Don't really like the whole tagging thing, so if you would like to do this, consider yourself tagged. If not, go and eat some chocolate and you will soon feel much better.

Disconcerting

2005-06-30T10:35:00.000+02:00

Driving home from work yesterday, I got stuck behind a big blue truck, that regardless of it's snail-like pace, insisted on driving in the middle lane.

As I got closer to it's backside, I noticed that there were stickers with the radioactive icon on it pasted all over the truck.

The scary part was the fact that little spongelike things kept on blowing off the truck and onto the surrounding cars.

Needless to say, I got out of there as quickly as I could.

Winterrr

2005-06-29T11:58:00.000+02:00

Now I know it is winter, even though we haven't had a properly cold day yet.

Every day my journey to work is getting blacker (not in a depressing sense) as more of the grass fields along the way is incinerated in fires. These range from little smoldering patches to great blazes with huge billowing clouds of white smoke, that makes little flakes of soot float down onto passing cars.
At night these are even more spectacular, because you can clearly see the tongues of flame licking and devouring the dry grass.

I love the smell of these fires.
It is warm, wholesome, nourishing.
In it's scent lies the promise that as soon as winter is over, little sprouts of luminescent green will appear, soon covering all the blackness as they draw nourishment from the fine ash of their predecesors.

Surprise

2005-06-27T09:19:00.000+02:00

I love surprises!

One of my friends unexpectedly came back to Pretoria for the weekend.
I understand his reasoning in not wanting everybody to know if he is only here for a short period off time - which is why appreciate the quick shopping trip and subsequent button sorting even more.

Thanks, it was fun!

(Now do something to your blog!)

Double Dance

2005-06-15T04:57:00.000+02:00

I was lucky enough to see not one, but two really great dance productions in one week.

The first one, Danscape, is a showcase of young South African talent that also serves as a fundraiser to support young dancers. A lot of different programmes and academies were involved and the result was a vibrant mix of contemporary, jazz, flamenco and even traditional Indian dance styles.
There was also a beautiful piece by the Remix Dance Project, a group that uses both disabled and able-bodied dancers.

My favourite of the evening was the last piece by Ina Wicterich that was a collaboration between the Jazzart trainees and dancers from all the other schools. I would never have thought that Indian dance moves could work so well when performed to African vocals.

But the most enchanting part was when a little girl of about 2 or 3, sitting in the front row with her parents, became so enamoured with the performance that she jumped up and started dancing too. The whole audience let out an appreciative sigh at the sight of this little person twirling about in a world of her own.

The second piece was La Traviata by the South African Ballet Theatre. We were lucky enough to see one of the performances accompanied by a live orchestra and I think that it made all the difference. Andries Weidemann was in the lead and his dancing and acting went way beyond just the steps and the lifts. There was an ease and maturity to his performance that a lot of the younger dancers lacked. His partner was good not great, but I think she will mature into a stunnong dancer in a few year's time. Her death scene scene was brilliantly done though.

So that's it. Wonderful dancing to remember and Chicago to look forward to in 2 week's time. Life is great.

Here I come

2005-06-02T10:00:00.000+02:00

As an early birthday present, I am taking myself down to Cape Town for the weekend.

Can't wait!

Ironic Victory

2005-05-27T09:07:00.000+02:00

After almost 4 months of trying, I have finally won a 1st place trophy in a Worth1000 contest.

The irony is that while I worked for hours on some of my previous entries, this one took 10 minutes at the most. I even had doubts whether I should enter it or not.

Grocery Star Wars

2005-05-24T02:03:00.000+02:00

Watch the movie here

In the spirit of my previous post, and because of all the Star Wars craziness at work lately, I just had to post this.

It features Obi Wan Cannoli, Ham Solo, Lord Tader and my favourite, Chewbroccoli.

May the farm be with you.

Episode III

2005-05-19T09:20:00.000+02:00

I work for such a cool company.

My boss took all of us out to see the first show of Revenge of the Sith this morning.

And he bought us each an actionfigure that is now proudly displayed on top of our monitors. Obi Wan kept toppling off at unexpected and inoppurtune moments, causing minor heart attacks around the office.

I might be a geek, but I'm lovin' it!

Things I haven't done. Yet.

2005-05-18T04:11:00.000+02:00

Since Casyn asked so nicely in her post, I suppose I could share a few of the things that I have never done before.

It was harder than I expected, and a disturbing amount of my initial ideas involved food of some sort. And places I've never been, but considering that I have only ever been on a quick trip to England, that's not really surprising.
So here goes.

I have never done bungee jumping, and I probably never will. I would be willing to try out skydiving any day, but there is just something about going head first that totally freaks me out.
I have never tasted oysters. Anybody offering?
I have never failed my learner's licence, even though I wrote it 4 times. ( Long story involving a lot of procrastination on my part)
I have never stopped reading a book to go and look up a word that I didn't understand completely. I usually just get too caught up in the story to bother, but I sometimes do it later, if I remember.
I have never spent more than R300 on shoes. Not when there is a perfectly good bookshop just around the corner. It's in my genes I tell you!
I have never seen Casablanca, Gone with the Wind or Citizen Kane.
I have never been able to keep my hands clean while writing, painting or drawing. It sometimes feels like the ink/paint/crayon/charcoal/marker is magnetically attracted to my hands, and by extention, my face.
I have never seen real snow. I missed it by a few days when I was in England. Very sad.
I have never tasted any whiskey (scotch, bourbon, whatever) that I liked. I most probably never will.
I have never ridden on a camel. It looks like it could be fun.
I have never been able to study for something more than 2 or 3 days in advance. I just can't. It doesn't stick.
I have never climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, but it is on my list of things to do before I die.

Yes, there are more than ten things. I have never been very good at following silly instructions either.

Curry and Blue Rice

2005-04-20T09:15:00.000+02:00

This is just further proof that I am part of a delightfully weird family. A few nights ago, supper was traditional South African 'Kerrie en Rys' (For non-SA's, this is lightly curried mince with potatoes, raisins and apricots, usually served with rice and lots of Mrs Ball's Chutney.)

Thing is, we all like brown rice, while my father is an adamant white rice supporter.
Solution: Cook a combination of the 2 and get your sister to sneak a few drops of blue food colouring into the mix.

This resulted in a delicious meal with a wonderfully retro 80's colour scheme, that left the whole family extolling the virtues of blue rice as opposed to boring, normal rice.

Of course, this just reaffirmed my co-workers' suspicions as to my overall sanity, but since I am a designer, weirdness is almost part of the job description.

And much thanks to The Saturnyne for his timely advice. I was getting really agitated with Hello and am now very much enthralled by Imageshack. This might not count as the unexpected eternal gratefulness, but it is still a big thank you. I might have to send you some freshly drawn chocolates now.

Grrr!

2005-04-19T08:46:00.000+02:00

I can't get Hello to upload any photos
Any suggestions?

Attention: Joz

2005-04-04T11:22:00.000+02:00

Aangesien ek die KSB, wat nou nie regtig meer klein is nie, nie vanoggend te siene gekry het nie, sal ek dit maar hier moet sê.

Baie geluk met die begin van jou derde dekade!

(Sal maar later die present ding onderhandel)

Splash.

2005-04-03T10:06:00.000+02:00

How could I have forgotten how much fun it is to go on the Tube ride at Warmbaths.
Especially if you do it ten times in a row.

Slaughter City

2005-03-24T11:19:00.000+02:00

A Gothic Thriller

The power of the worker to rise above the system.

The power of the past to change the future.

And the power of desire to make us embrace what we fear most.

Everything from race to women's rights to the politics of sex...

Set in an abattoir, the play explores the interactions of the workers and their managers surrounding an impending strike. The play is also framed by the mysterious character of Cod - a young worker with strange links to the past history of labour struggles, who is continually in conflict with an enigmatic soul known only as the Sausage Man. Neither alive nor dead, man nor woman, by his very presence Cod turns all the assumptions the slaughterhouse workers hold on their heads, and unleashes desires the numbed employees never imagined they would feel again.

The play is written in a style that combines hard-hitting realism with Brechtian expressionism, so that the characters are both real people existing in a concrete place and time, and symbols' of the struggles between labourers and capitalists, men and women, blacks and whites.

The performance space takes the form of an installation combining paintings, puppets and video montage, in and around which the performance takes shape and is experienced
The 'Sausage Man' is a life sized minotaur-like puppet, created in amazing detail by Diek Grobler, from its skeletal body down to the hoof-like stilts the actor has to walk on.

It was written by Naomi Wallace, who grounded the play in the reality of a much publicized 1992 strike against Fischer Packing Company in Louisville, USA. Certain incidents leading up to the strike, including the death of a worker who inhaled ammonia fumes, made their way into the drama. But this production was given a decidedly South African flavour - kudu horns for the sausage man, singing, gumboot dancing and toi-toiing.

Unfortunately, I only saw the production after some technical problems had forced them to move it to a much smaller venue with less than a day's notice. It couldn't have been easy for the cast and crew, but they still managed to pull it off, and the actors are masterful as they mime the cutting and boning of meat at their abattoir work stations.

I would have loved to see it as it was meant to be, with the actors weaving through and around the huge carcasses, but even with a minimalistic stage, 'Slaughter City' was still a powerful, unsettling experience.

O, die nostalgie!

2005-03-18T08:24:00.000+02:00

So many people have found this site by googling old South African children's shows like 'Wielie Walie', 'Mina Moo', 'Mannemarak' and 'Oscar en Knersus', only to be disappointed by finding them barely mentioned once, and with no information pertaining to them.

So I decided to do some research myself, and this is what I found:

Oscar en Knersus

Themesong 'Asblikfontein' was performed The Springbok Nude Girls at the 5FM Easter Rock Festival 27 March 1999.
Knersus was voiced by Carel Trichardt.

"Ha ha ha
Ek's vuur ek's vlam
Niks wat my kan vang
Ha ha ha"

An 'Oscar en Knersus' video can be bought here.

You can also watch it at 17:30 on Thursdays on Nsat (The South African TV Station in the UK)

Wielie Walie

Wielie-wielie-walie.
Die aap sit op sy balie.
Tjoef-tjaf daar val hy af.
Wielie-wielie-walie.

The themesong, along with a lot of other early South African TV themesongs, can be found here.
The CD with all the songs can be bought here at kalahari.net.

Liewe Heksie

About the author, Verna Vels. Incidentally, she was also the voice for Bennie Boekwurm in 'Wielie Walie', and did almost all the voices for the original radio production of 'Liewe Heksie'.

Haas Das se Nuuskas

Bit before my time, but I heard enough about them from my sisters.

Ons kyk na Haas Das se nuuskas - vroegaand net na 6
Ons kyk na Haas Das se nuuskas - dis die grootste pret
Ons kyk na Haas Das se nuuskas - groot en klein kyk saam
Al die nuus uit Diereland bring Haas Das vanaand

You can also hear the themesong here.

Most of the puppets used in these shows are now stored at the University of Pretoria

And a few other favourites:

Gummi Bears

Dashing and daring
Courageous and caring
Faithful and friendly
With stories to share
All through the forest
They sing out in chorus
Marching along
As their song fills the air

CHORUS: Gummi Bears
Bouncing here and there and everywhere
High adventure that's beyond compare
They are the Gummi Bears

Magic and mystery
Are part of their history
Along with the secret
Of gummiberry juice
Their legend is growing
They take pride in knowing
They'll fight for what's right
In whatever they do

CHORUS (Repeat first verse) CHORUS

Gummi Bears
When a friend's in danger they'll be there
Lives and legends that we all can share
They are the Gummi Bears
They are the Gummi Bears
They are the Gummi Bears!

Listen to it Here

Maya the Bee

Remember them?

......(speechless)

2005-03-18T03:20:00.000+02:00

What?!
I was wondering why my traffic suddenly increased this morning.
While seriously trying to refrain from scaring the whole office with my expressions of glee, and only succeeding in toning it down to unsuppressably girlish giggling, I can still not quite grasp the fact that my writing won Best post on a South African blog!
What were they thinking!
Pity I couldn't be there

Intense Aggravation

2005-02-25T08:09:00.000+02:00

Unmoving strings of red lights on the highway,
Eating away at my patience, my sanity and my weekend!

2005 South African blog awards

2005-02-21T10:32:00.000+02:00

Big shock.

My blog was nominated for not one but two categories in the SA Blog Awards!

One for Best New Blog and another for Best post on a South African blog for my post 'Do you remember?'

Who would have guessed? And thanks for whoever nominated me. This is really great.

C'est fini.

2005-02-18T08:16:00.000+02:00

After 3 weeks of near constant working, and absolutely no social life (serves me right for taking on such a big freelance project in conjunction to my normal job), the second volume of SA Bear Quaterly is finally finished and being printed as I write this.

With some great photos by my brother, and a few very cute (yes, cute is a prerequisite for a Teddybear magazine) illustrations by my sister, I finally managed to create something that had the editors exclaiming in joy over each new page. They make teddybears, it is to be expected. But I'm really glad that they liked it after having so much trouble with the company that did the first volume. (Not that I am complaining about that neccesarily, since it meant that I got the job) Also, never having done a commercial layout of this magnitude before, only having worked with Adobe Indesign once before in my life, advertisers that didn't understand the difference between 72 dpi and 300 dpi and having too much content for the amount of pages I was given contributed considerably to the normal stress of a fast approaching deadline.

But it is finished now, so I am happy.

To celebrate, we went to see Alfie. Much enjoyment, but more about that later.

Lost - Pilot (1 & 2)

2005-02-07T01:55:00.000+02:00

(This started out as a comment on Casyn's post, but it just got way too long, so I transferred it here instead.)

The people at M-net were nice enough to screen the first 2 episodes back to back. It makes a big difference, and I would have been really frustrated to be left hanging in the middle of the pilot. Not that there isn't enough questions already after just 2 episodes.

They way they use non-linear storytelling is very effective. The viewer is thrust into the middle of this world without knowing anything about the any of the characters, just like them. Even the setting is alien - any normal reference framework doesn't exist here.
I am really glad that they decided to drop the subtitles for the Korean couple, Jin and Sun, in the second half. This puts the audience in the same shoes as the characters as they try to cross a very crucial barrier.

So everything is very strange and stressful already, just to have a 'Lord of the Flies'esque 'Beast' thrown into the mix too. At first it is possible that The Beast could be a manifestation, a sort of embodiment of the survivors' collective fear. But the fact that it brutally killed the pilot of the ill-fated plane and left it in the tree left two things quite clear - it is very real, and this series has much more supernatural elements in it than I ever expected.

Everything is shrouded in mystery, even the plot itself - slowly, through flashbacks exclusive to each characters' point of view, we find out how these people got to where they are, and, essentially, who they are.

Kate's flashback for example completely changes the way we regard her motivations and actions pre-flashback. It explains why she was so concerned about the man with the scrapnel in his gut and why it was she who succeeded in breaking up the fight between Sawyer and Sayid, attempting to keep the others focused and trying to get them to look beyond their petty differences. Because if Sayid is ostracized even though he has done nothing, what will happen when the others learn her secret?

Orange man(Locke) is extremely creepy - he obviously knows much more than he is letting on. There is the orange peel incident and then way he serenely sits in the rain while the rest of the survivors desperately scramble to find some cover - he even looks happy. When he finally does speak in the second half, it only deepens the mystery: "Two players. Two sides. One is light; one is dark. Walt - do you wanna know a secret?"
Eerily reminiscent of Carnivale.

It is interesting that the whole Polar Bear incident occurred right after Walt saw a picture of a polar bear in his Spanish language comic book. Like in Sphere where people's fears come to life.

I wonder if the 5 on Jack's tattoo has any relation to the story he told about conquering his fear?
One critique though, no airline that I know of will allow an 8 months pregnant woman to fly, especially not on an international flight.

Meme

2005-01-13T10:49:00.000+02:00

n: A unit of cultural information, such as a cultural practice or idea, that is passed from one generation to another by nongenetic means (as by imitation);"memes are the cultural counterpart of genes"

Memes are contagious ideas, all competing for a share of our mind in a kind of Darwinian selection. Individual slogans, catch-phrases, melodies, icons, inventions, and fashions are all typical memes. As they evolve, they become better and better at distracting and diverting us from whatever we'd really like to be doing with our lives. They are a kind of Virus of the Mind, spreading as easily as any cold.

But still, it is what our culture, religion and modern life is based on. My favorite example of a crucial meme would be "fire" or more importantly, "how to make a fire." This is a behavioral meme, one which didn't necessarily need a word attached to it to spring up and spread, merely a demonstration for another to follow, but still something that could not be done on pure instinct. Once the meme was out there, it would have spread like wildfire, for obvious reasons...

But when you start to think of memes like that, behavioral memes, then you can begin to see how language itself, the idea of language, was a meme. Writing was a meme. And within those areas, more specific memes emerged.

And as a designer, it is basically my job to either create, or to pass on memes.

So here goes. (This is a passed on meme mind you.)

Instructions: Copy the list from the last person in the chain and link back to them, delete the names of the authors you don't have on your home library shelves and replace them with names of authors you do have. Bold the replacements.

Terry Pratchett
Douglas Adams
Robin Hobb
Jostein Gaarder
Charles de Lint
JRR Tolkien
C.S. Lewis
J.K. Rowling
Yann Martel

This is fairly trivial meme. Why exactly would I want to know which authors I have in common with someone I have never met? But still I have found this same meme on various other blogs. And now it is here. Mainly because 'everybody else is doing it'?

As Changeable as the Weather

2005-01-04T07:28:00.000+02:00

Last night we had a huge thunderstorm.
The blustering, lighting up the whole sky, less than a second before the thunder comes, strobelightish, windowpane rattling, apocalypse nowish kind.
Very spectacular, but not really conducive to a good night's rest.
And it started just as I was finally falling asleep.

This morning I woke up to a dramatic pewter sky and yet more lightning, not finding the whole going to work thing very appealing (and I'm still in holiday mode anyway). But as soon as I was dressed, the trees were already highlighted with golden sunlight against the slightly lighter, but still threatening, sky. As I got into my car (now in need of a wash, again), the sun was peeking through the dripping leaves and the clouds were rapidly disintegrating into wispy strands in a baby blue sky. By the time I got to the highway, there wasn't a cloud in sight, the sun was beating down from a rich, cobalt-blue sky and the road wasn't even wet anymore.

All this in the space of about half an hour.
That's sunny SA for you.

Do you remember?

2004-12-07T07:22:00.000+02:00

Remember...

Before the Internet or the AppleMac...
Before semi-automatics and crack cocaine...
Before SEGA, Cartoon Network and Teletubbies...
Before Playstation and MTV...
Way back.

I'm talking about the time of playing Hide and Seek in the park until after dark whithout your parents worrying. The cafe down the road that sold everything, Hopscotch, skipping and handstands, backyard cricket with a tomato box, "Bollie" and "Liewe Heksie" cartoons in the Huisgenoot, trading writing paper and stickers, fishing with willow branches in the stream, catching tadpoles, living on the beach, building a swing from a piece of rope tied to a tree, tennis in the street and swing ball in the backyard.

A Wilson's toffee for 2 cents. A white and pink ice cream cone from the kombi that played a tune. When around the corner seemed far away and going into town seemed like going somewhere, and your ma made you "dress up" for the trip. Going to school barefoot. Watching "Mina Moo", "Pumpkin Patch", "Wielie Walie", "Mannemarak" and "Oscar en Knersus".

A million mozzie bites and peeling skin in summer. The smell of suntan lotion, hot tar and Oros. Sticky fingers and sand in and on everything. Feeding seasnails to the anemones in the rock pools.

"Vroteier", Telegram, hand tennis, Foefie slides & climbing trees. Running till you were out of breath. Laughing so hard that your stomach hurt. Jumping on the bed. Pillow fights. Spinning around, getting dizzy and falling down. Paper water bombs and mud clots were the ultimate weapon. Going everywhere on your BMX , without ever needing helmets or pads.

Eating jelly powder from the box. Ice lollies made from cold drink in Tupperware holders in the freezer. Making sherbet from sugar and ENOS and boiling tins of condensed milk to make caramel - took hours! Marshmallow fish and mice.

It wasn't odd to have two or three "best" friends. Nobody owned a pedigree dog. R2 was decent pocket money. When nearly everyone's mom was at home when the kids got there. Everybody kept silkworms and used them to spin silk bookmarks for their grandmother.

When it was considered a great privilege and very unusual to be taken out to dinner at a real restaurant or in a proper hotel. Or when on the rare occasion Dad stopped at a roadhouse and you got to drink a real milkshake.

Decisions were made by going "eeny-meeny-miney-mo."
Mistakes were corrected by simply exclaiming, "Nix!"
"A race issue" meant arguing about who ran the fastest.
Money was handled by whoever was the banker in "Monopoly"
The worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was germs.
Having a weapon in school meant being caught with a BIC pen pea shooter or a "kettie".
Taking drugs meant orange-flavoured chewable vitamin C or Milk of Magnesia.
Ice cream was considered a basic food group.
Skills and courage were discovered because of a "dare".
Older siblings were the worst tormentors, but also the fiercest protectors.

The Image In Question

2004-12-03T09:22:00.000+02:00

For no logical reason whatsoever, the moment I uploaded this image, it caused my entire template to disappear, leaving me with exactly one blank screen for a blog.

Gnomon

2004-11-29T09:00:00.000+02:00

n: The stationary arm whose shadow indicates the time on the sundial.

Being Bugged

2004-11-26T02:04:00.000+02:00

When I was little (somewhere in between wanting to be a conductor and a nursery school teacher), I wanted to be an entomologist. Firstly because I really liked playing with bugs, but now I think the main reason might have been to see the slightly baffled look on people's faces as they tried to figure out what this 6 year old just said. (It just felt really good to know the meaning of a word when grownups didn't)

I especially liked beetles, and I would spend hours making them beds, giving them baths, rubbing them in with cream ... and being very surprised when they stopped moving after I had cared for them so well.

I also had a series of daddy longlegs spiders that lived under my bedlamp and caught all of my mosquitoes. Unfortunately the last one disappeared a while ago (presumably during one of my mother's furious cleaning sessions) and that brings me to the original reason for this post - mosquitoes.
Since I no longer have a handy (and eco-friendly) deterrent for them, I was kept up half the night listening to that annoying whine and flaying around in the dark. Of course, when I finally got fed up enough to put on the light and do a proper search and destroy, not one of the little fiends were anywhere to be found.
And to prove that this was not just part of a very elaborate sleepwalking style dream, I am now covered in at least a dozen infuriatingly itchy bumps.

A similar story about a Parktown Prawn.

Fun in the Sun

2004-11-12T11:30:00.000+02:00

I am going Jeffrey's Bay for a whole week and a half.
Just think, by tomorrow morning I will be walking on the beach and no worries about pixelation, filesize or consolidation will cross my mind for at least 9 days.
Can not wait!

The Village

2004-11-08T03:35:00.000+02:00

I myself am highly allergic to spoilers. I thought this movie was brilliant and of course I want to rave about a few things, but since M Night Shyamalan's trademark usually is the twisty ending, I would not want to ruin for anybody that which I have so enjoyed. So go and treat yourself to a great cinematic experience before you read the following...

One of this movie's biggest flaws is probably the marketing. The trailers and posters create the expectation of a terror filled thrillride. Instead this is a movie about terror. And emotion. I am just really glad that I didn't go to see this movie with too many preconceived expectations.

The thing that struck me most about this movie was its use of colour. From the start the slightly washed out colours create the perfect atmosphere for this idyllic rural community. This image is strengthened by the costumes and Like one of those old sepia photographs, there is a warmth to the imagery. But everything is completely devoid of red.
Red is the Bad colour. It attracts them. So the brightness of the flashes of red does seem alien and out of place like they should.

A lot of people are complaining that they figured out what twist was coming early on.But there are more than one, and even though I did figure out some of the hints just before the actual revelation, it was still satisfying. And that is one of the things I like - the subtle hints all through the movie that makes a repeat viewing a must. Small things like Noah's ramblings and giggles (Adrian Brody really is an amazing actor), or the conversation about the supposed 'coyote' take on a much greater meaning when seen in the full context. One of the quotes that sums it up best appears in the very beginning of the movie.

Edward Walker : [part of a table grace] We are grateful for the time we have been given.

And I really enjoyed the director's reflective cameo at the end.

But my biggest shock came from the knife scene. Lucius is explaining his engagement to the 'innocent' Noah, talking about there being different kinds of love. Then the camera slowly pans down to reveal the knife in his gut...

Swing Time

2004-10-26T09:47:00.000+02:00

So after getting Amanda's very relevant 8th round word, the unfortunate little suspended person returns to my gallows.

FLATULENT
_____
¦ ___¦
¦ ___O
¦ ___¦ \
¦
¦\_____

Guessed letters: N T R S E M C L

Casyn and MuzeKez both got it right, so you'll have to decide who gets the honour of hosting round 10.

Festival of Senses

2004-10-21T11:58:00.000+02:00

Dusk. A light breeze is finally cooling us down after another scorchingly hot day in Pretoria.
We are sitting outside Bishop's Bistro and the myriad of frogs in the pond next ot us are regaling us with their musical stylings.
The beads of perspiration on our drinks sparkle in the gentle light of the multicoloured lanterns.
And finally, the food arrives...
Lightly battered and fried Brie with a sour berry coulis, that literally melts away in one's mouth.
And then a tiny spring chicken, stuffed with mushroom risotto and covered with apricots, with grilled julienne veggies and panfried potatoes.

What more can a girl ask for?

Before Sunset

2004-10-15T09:04:00.000+02:00

This movie has no musical score. I watched an entire movie, without realizing there wasn't any emotionally manipulative music in the background. Don't get me wrong, I'm a complete sucker for movie soundtracks, but I was so enthralled by the characters that I had to read a review on IMDB before I noticed it.

I saw Before Sunrise for the first time 6 years ago, and like them, I can't remember every detail of what happened on that day. Like them, I'm older now, perhaps a bit more cynical. But I still remember the feeling it evoked in me...

In this movie there are no drama, no action, no special effects, not even much of a plot. Nothing superfluous. It is just one long conversation between two people who had made a connection 9 years before, and are still feeling the effects of that one night. These two people open up to each other unequivocally and talk about life, love, and desire. Their dialogue is intelligent and thought provoking. You feel like you're part a conversation, not listening to actors recite their lines on screen.

And there is no resolution at the end. At least nothing more specific than Nina Simone in the background.

100!!

2004-10-15T01:05:00.000+02:00

I've finally reached the big 100 in visitors.
Hangman really is good for hits.

Rope's End

2004-10-13T07:54:00.000+02:00

Ok, so now I'm the new executioner after Casyn.

UNCTUOUS - Affecting an oily charm.

_____
¦ ___¦
¦ ___O
¦ __/¦ \
¦
¦\_____

W, N, R ,P, S,T,U,Y,L

Congrats to Casyn for saving this little man in the nick of time (again)
Back to you then :)

Tall Horse

2004-10-06T01:05:00.000+02:00

Last weekend I saw a production of Tall Horse by the Handspring Puppet Company. They specialize in using life sized wooden puppets that require up to 3 puppeteers to manipulate. A certain suspension of disbelief is necessary, since the puppeteers are visible the whole time (apparently a traditional Chinese puppeteering style), but once you get used to it, you literally don't even notice the puppeteers anymore, and the puppets come alive. Here, the whole 5 m tall giraffe was handled by just 2 puppeteers on stilts.

The story of Tall horse is based on the life of a giraffe that was caught in southern Sudan, taken up the River Nile in a felucca and shipped across the Mediterranean by the Viceroy of Egypt to be presented as a gift to the King of France. It wintered in Marseilles and in the spring of 1827 took several months to walk to Paris, creating a sensation along the route and, some say, inspired the design of the Eiffel Tower.

Unstoppable Giggles

2004-10-04T01:23:00.000+02:00

The 213 things Skippy is no longer allowed to do in the US Army.

My belly is still hurting from laughing so much.

Doodling

2004-10-01T01:49:00.000+02:00

I started doodling while waiting for my computer to finish installing a Windows Service pack (because of that jpeg vulnerability thing) and this is what resulted.
I still don't know what it is though.

Otter Pleasure

2004-09-27T01:16:00.000+02:00

Well, I'm back after a really long weekend ( thank you, as always to ESKOM for deciding to shut down all the power in the middle of a work week), so I got 2 more free days.
Since it was National Heritage Day on Friday, we decided to explore our natural heritage with a visit to the Southern Drakensberg. We left the booking a bit late (and forgot that it was school holidays), so after a whole mission, we discovered Penwarn Country Lodge, and thanks to a late cancellation managed to organise a room for the weekend.

So we joyfully set off on Thursday morning for a 6 hour trip to greener pastures. Unfortunately we forgot all our CD's at home, so we basically had a choice between static or RSG for most of the trip.
So, tired and hungry, we finally arrived at Underberg, only to drive around for another hour on dark and scary mountian dirt roads looking for the farm. What should have taken us 15 minutes, turned into an extra 80 km, because my friend got the directions wrong, and since there is allmost no cellphone reception in the mountains, we couldn't even phone for help.
But in the end, arrive we did, to a beautiful old sandstone barn, complete with real fireplaces and delectable mushroom soup.

Halfway through the meal though, I felt a movement next to my leg, and looked down to find Nimrod, a tame otter, trying to get onto my lap. Apparently he was attacked by dogs when he was only 2 weeks old, and then nursed back to health by Bruce and Peta (the owners of the farm). Now he spends one half of his time in the myriad of streams and dams on the farm, and the rest sleeping in under the couch cushions, playing with the guests or begging pork sausages from the kitchen.
Early the next morning, he came to visit us in our room after his morning swim, and proceeded to dry himself off on the carpet and fall asleep on our bed.

It is amazing how fond grew of him, even though I only knew him for 3 days, and I miss him allready.

Defenestration

2004-09-13T08:06:00.000+02:00

n : The act of throwing someone out of a window.

Holiday

2004-09-03T01:42:00.000+02:00

I can't wait! In less than 4 days time I will be off to Capetown for a midweek break of 3 whole days. The past few weeks have been so hectic that I haven't even gotten around to doing any posts before now. But since the bonus I got for working all through the weekend is paying for this trip, I'm not complaining too much.

Still, I hate that feeling you get when you work really hard to finish a project with an extremely tight deadline, and you actually finish it with time to spare, when the client turns around and tells you that Mr. Whoever can't keep to the original schedule and the project will be extended indifinitely. But the client is always right, so what can a lowly designer do?
Anyway, enough ranting now.

I did get to see Phantom of the Opera in the State Theatre though. It was absolutely amazing! I never knew Andre Schwartz had such a powerful voice. As for the decor - it was some of the best scene changes I have ever seen. My favourite one was probably the whole transformation sequence where Christine sings 'Think of me'. Some of the visual imagery like the drapery falling down after the auction scene and of course the underground river left me sitting there with goosebumps crawling up my back.

Weekend blues (and mochas)

2004-08-10T07:45:00.000+02:00

Trust me to choose the only long weekend for ages to get the lurgy. And of course now that I have to go back to work I feel sufficiently better to not really have a valid reason to stay at home.

We did make the most amazing flourless chocolate cake though. It is basically just lots of dark chocolate and groung almonds mixed with eggs, sugar and butter (with the obligatory coffee and brandy for taste), but oh, decadent doesn't even come close. The bigger nuts all sink to the bottom to form the chewy base. Next is the gooey, rich, moist chocolaty coffee centre that just melts away in your mouth. And to end it off is the light crusty top brushed with icing sugar, or if you want to be even more decadent, dribbled with melted chocolate. Food from the white house is without doubt my new favourite cookbook.

But I'm making myself hungry talking about this, and there is still one little piece left...

Haunted Highway

2004-08-03T07:24:00.000+02:00

By now I am used to driving on the highway so early in the morning that it is still dark. But this morning was different. The buildings that make up Midrand were barely visible in the early morning light, when suddenly everything disappeared into a grey curtain of mist. It felt like my car was the only one on the road, except for the dim red glow of backlights in the distance.

Now I understand where all those stories and myths about crosing over into other worlds originated, it really felt like I got a glimpse of another reality where anything might be possible.

Then just as suddenly the mist is gone.Coming out of it was like waking up from a special dream - they never do last long enough, do they?

Thunderstorms

2004-08-02T02:05:00.000+02:00

The weather is being really strange. It actually looks like it's going to rain any moment, but it is still winter, and I do not live in Cape Town (yet). And I just had my car washed. Oh well.

I can't wait for summer to come. There is nothing like a good highveld afternoon thunderstorm to cool everything down after another blisteringly hot morning. The majestic way the clouds build up to their cumulus glory. The strange yellow-brown light that decends just before the first drops hit the dusty earth. That unique smell, a mixture of dust and water, that you always get at the beginning of a thunderstorm. Then the slow buildup of sounds into a deafining noise, punctuated by rolls of thunder.

But this isn't the kind of storm that lasts very long, so before the drops even stop falling, the sun is bursting through again. But everything feels different, newer, fresher. And if you're really lucky there just might be a rainbow somewhere in there too.

Garlic Bread

2004-07-30T07:18:00.000+02:00

It arrives at your table still piping hot from the oven. Fragrant steam envelop your head. A hint of garlic here, a touch of onion there, all mixed up in the mindnumbingly wonderful smell of freshly baked bread. Plate in front of you. Pour some olive oil on the smooth white surface, followed by swirling patterns of balsamic vinegar. Try not to burn your fingers as you tear off that first chunk. Sprinkle lightly with the parmesan cheese you charmed out of your waiter. You figured out long ago that the best way to proceed without any condiment or topping losses, is to fold it double at this point, locking all the goodness inside. Then comes the stir and dip, and immediately after you take your first bite. Heaven...
But too soon it turns into a last bite, mopping up the last of your vinegary concoction. The waiters come and clear away the vestiges of your feast. But a thought takes hold in your mind. Slowly you lift your hand and surreptitiously bekon the waiter nearer again.

"Could you bring me another one, please?"

I love Primi Piatti's bread.