Time: Pictures of the Week (s)

This is one of my favourite things to look out for on the TIME website. You have to go through the Pictures of the Week for a bit but some of the ones I enjoy follow.


I love all the volcano images- I don't know why, but I do love the glow and intensity of fire. At the same time, I also enjoy water images (hello, I'm a pisces). I also love the image of the vendor in Port-au-Prince (makes me think of Andrew). The image of the illegal weapons being set on fire in Nai...are those all the illegal weapons there? If so, I think I'll be moving the the East much sooner than I thought LOL. Another favourite definitely HAS got to be the image titled "13 Billion Year-Old Baby"- if that isn't beauty and testament to how amazing the cycle of life is...then I don't know what is. The image of the students looking at the Einstein manuscript gave me goosebumps...I know quite a few people who would be very interested in seeing that upfront. This is just so crass that I can't talk about it.

Above: 13 Billion Year-Old Baby

I love the picture of the waves crashing into the streets of Havana. Also love the overturned cars in Chile post 'quake. Lesson learnt: Nature rules. Man doesn't. The giraffes! A beautiful image and it pulled at my maternal heartstrings! I love nature in all its manifestations man. That shit with the Siberian tigers...then they wonder why the tiger went tiger and ate a trainer. I would also be pissed off if you trained me to do that; if man is so amazing, why can't it teach tigers to speak? At least the tiger would be able to warn you that it's getting annoyed with your condescending training. Tigers have pride too.

Thakadu

Friends that visit my house are always asking me why I have a porcelain model of an anteater in my house. It's my totem. If they are white, I have to explain away. Black people get it. But the story is kinda cool. My uncle has a big ant eater at the entrance of his drive way, and another uncle has named his farm Tlokwe. I was the apple of my grandfather's eye, and his nickname for me was Thakadu, so it's always with love when someone in my family calls me an ant eater (aardvark).


Here's the short of the story behind Thakadu.

Ke mo tlokwa Long ago, our totem used to be nkwe before we adopted Thakadu (ant eater) as our totem. This was after our people were preserved by the water found in wells dug out by diThakadu while we were in the wilderness after being defeated by Basotho.

LEBOKO LA BOTLOKWA

Re Mafifatswana a go rekwa ka kgomo,
Mafetakgomo a je motho,
Magadimana ntweng a a ja, ga a gadime,
Ba ha Mmakana a Mosima!
Bag a Musi! Mmolaa-moapei Moapeelwana a sale alla
Bag a Nkwenyana, a Nkwe o apareng?
KE APERE TAU!

I think being named for the anteater is a great honour. It means that like the anteater did for my people so long ago, I am more aware of my ability to preserve people when they are at their most vulnerable. If you ask any of my real friends, they'll tell you that this is definitely one of my more positive traits.

Why I Hate Shosholoza

The song was originally sung by migrant workers who toiled in the bowels of Apartheid South Africa. In addition to facing oppression as black people, they experienced alienation from their families when they were forced to live away from their families in single sex hostels close to the mines of Apartheid South Africa.

The legacy of this element of the migrant labour system is the systematic and eventual break down of the African family unit: fathers, husbands and brothers left the reserves where black people had been banished to (let's not forget the Southern African migrant labourers whose sweat, blood and lives helped build the white economy), leaving mothers to fulfil both the role of mother and father in the home. Children grew up without fathers and the men working in the cities would eventually form new families in the city.

When these men sang Shosholoza, they weren't singing to celebrate that they had jobs, nor were they celebrating a victory. They were coping with trying to eke out a living in a system that was designed to break them, a system that controlled all of their movements at all times.

That is a small part of why I cringe everytime I hear the song being sung at sports games or in expression of some kind of South African pride. That and people sound like douche bags when they can't be bothered to pronounce the words when singing the song at rugby games while waving the old flag.

Desiderata

If you've received an email from me, chances are, you might have peeped my signature. Below is the full text of the poem, titled Desiderata, which is latin for "things desired". I was introduced to the poem by a friend who was in my life for just a brief period, and this was one of the greatest and most powerful gifts that he left me with. He was definately a value adder. LOL

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant, they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let not this blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore, be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams; it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful.

Strive to be happy.

- Max Ehrmann, 1927

Currently Reading: Dead Aid

I'm currently reading a book by a really intelligent African woman, Dambisa Moyo-who, I might add, I really look up to. The book focuses on why aid is not the right way to go about stimulating and developing the African continent. In the book, Dambisa looks at how aid has developed in the past few decades, and she also unpacks the "industry" of aid. I call it an industry because that's the way i perceive the business of aid. I have had the aid conversation with friends from around the world, including those that work in the aid industry. I have always wondered how aid could be so gladly given to obviously intensely corrupt African governments. I've also just felt like aid only stimulates and strengthens the vicious circle of poverty in Africa. Governments who refuse to be accountable are often loaned money that they cannot conceivably and realistically pay back, and then more loans to pay off the other loans! See the circle already?

For Africans, corruption and underdevelopment is part of life, part of the routine. I once shocked myself when, in a conversation on the state of ruin that Lagos is in, I said that people in charge can skim a bit off the top, but could they please just get things done (craters in the road, infrastructure, clean water, sanitation). It's such a resigned attitude, and I really try not to be the person with that kind of attitude but sometimes it's really hard not to be that way. Anyway, back to the topic of aid.

So I haven't finished reading the book, but I just feel like some of what Dambisa says is just what I have been struggling to put across in certain arguments. This morning, I decided to read some reviews on her book and found some really intersting points of view. A review by Michael Gerson in the Washington Post is very defensive. I mean, I don't blame him because I'd also be defensive if someone told me all my efforts to save the world were actually self serving and weren't actually helping the people I actually meant to help- he feels like some aid does help; like the US Government's PEPFAR program that has helped many people, while shutting out those who advocate abortion and other ideals on reproduction and the female body which are contrary to the conservative ideas of the Republican Party of America (in other words, using aid as some kind of neo-. While obviously offended that Moyo has effectively rubbished the PEPFAR program, he doesn't give any other solid example of why Dead Aid is a waste of space in the aid discourse. He also dismisses Moyo's hopefulness for an Africa that doesn't rely on aid to function and to develop, and that, I think was the point where Michael Gerson proved himself to be a Counter-Revolutionary Tjatjarag Agent with White Tendencies. *har har i kill myself*

She doesn't tweet a lot-which is great because there are less brainfarts that way (I only have space for mine), but you can follow her on twitter or check out her website.

Economist & Authur Dambisa Moyo

Artists I Like: Melina Moutsakis

Female music video directors are scarce across the world and in any music genre, and it’s always great to find out that a great video was directed by a female. Melina is possibly the biggest female music video director on the scene right now- her showreel features names like Snoop, Lady GaGa, Beyonce, Solange, Ludacris, Mario, Kylie Minogue, Keri Hilson and a host of other A-List artists. Being of Greek/Jamaican/Cuban American decent, her heritage screams passion and art; which definitely translates into her art. A graduate of the American Film Institute and New York University, her videos normally scream colour, or crisp visuals (think Bey’s Upgrade U).

Her breakout video that got her really noticed in the American industry was Ludacris’ Money Maker, and in 2008 she had her African debut when she worked with MTV Base on their Making The Video project in Kenya, where she mentored a group of directors and producers as they shot the music video to Wahu’s banging track Little Things You Do that featured Bobi Wine of Uganda.

Watch the Wahu ft Bobi Wine below- it's one of my favourite tracks! Really, it is.

Yay for Green Bathrooms!

With global warming becoming more and more of an issue that touches us in so many ways, we were drawn to this great design fresh out of Paris. This design is of a bathroom that uses the natural filtering principle by recycling and regenerating the wastewater. Shower and bathwater is filtered through an organic system before being reused. The design is a collaboration effort between Japanese born, Paris based designer Jun Yasumoto Alban Le Henry, Olivier Pigasse and Vincent Vandenbrouck. The design is still in the conceptual stage and we hope it becomes a reality because besides being good for us,it’s preeety.
Links and Images: Jun Yasumoto

But Is It Art? Burlesque – Dita Von Teese

Burlesque is described as a humorous theatrical entertainment involving parody and sometimes grotesque exaggeration. Burlesque shows are associated with striptease, in a more arty and showy sense than the conventional form. The most recognizable faces of burlesque of the past have included Mae West and the beautiful Josephine Baker (who was also the first African American female to star in a major motion picture and to integrate an American concert hall).

Today’s face of burlesque and everything kinky is Dita Von Teese. Her milky, smooth as a baby’s bottom skin betrays nothing but mystery and her red lips tell stories of seduction that you wish you played a part in. Her CV is long and interesting; she’s trained at ballet, she’s a trained stylist, has done porn, was a known tightlacer (the practice of wearing corsets to make ones’ waist smaller) and she’s been featured in fetish magazines. If anyone ever rocked vintage style –complete with the hair and lipstick, her name would be Dita Von Teese. Dita constantly seems to push boundaries: A lover of fashion and a fan of Dior and Marc Jacobs, it’s great to see her acceptance into the fashion industry as a muse and a model; she’s modelled in runway shows for Richie Rich (Heatherette), Giambattista Valli (Ungaro designer), Moschino and Jean Paul Gaultier. By her own admission, Von Teese has put the “tease back into striptease”, insinuating that the gap between the burlesque acts of old and now opened a space for classless, unartistic stripping.


In stark contrast to “regular” stripping, her dance shows include ‘30’s and ‘40’s inspired props and characters. In her routines, Dita has featured a giant powder compact, a clawfoot bathtub, and a carousel horse. The giant martini glass act that was used by Cameron Diaz in Charlies’ Angels is actually Dita’s current signature show (she is credited for it at the end of the movie), and who could forget her appearance at a New York charity function covered in nothing but $5 million worth of diamonds.

Dita inspires an appreciation for art in its various forms: dance; music and fashion by just being her. She has no aspirations to become an actress, having been quoted as saying "I don't understand why women feel the need to go into acting as soon as they become famous...But I suppose if the part were aesthetically correct, then maybe I could consider it.” For those who look at Dita and assume she is a regular run of the mill skank/scallywag just because elements of her art include sex and nudity, always remember that she walked away from a divorce with Marilyn Manson without asking for any of his money. And this is why I love this seemingly independent, artistic, beautiful and intelligent woman.

For more Dita, click here to visit her official website or follow her on twitter.

Artists I Like: Andrew Dosunmu

If you bump into this guy on the streets and he doesn’t have his panama hat on, assume that his signature look is incomplete. An unassuming man, Andrew Dosunmu is a creative with a thirst for creativity and travelling. Although he currently resides in New York, Andrew was born and raised in Nigeria. He started his career as a design assistant at Yves Saint Laurent (we see you going green with envy!), and moved onto other projects in the creative field- but what he’s really well known and respected for is his photography. His images have been featured in magazines across the world (Fader, Clam), and he’s also directed an award winning documentary titled Hot Irons, which featured hairstylists as they prepared for a hair competition. If you’re South African, the controversial TV show must be really familiar to you; he directed several episodes of Yizo Yizo. He’s been art director for album covers for various artists (Erykah Badu, Public Enemy) and has also directed music videos for Isaac Hayes (yes!), Angie Stone, Common, Wyclef, Kelis, Aaron Neville, Maxwell and Tracy Chapman.



Andrew is a streetstalker of note; he clearly has a love for the streets across the world. The style of a lot of his images is simply based around creating or putting glamour on the streets of the “developing world”. The photographer will put an attractive and well styled subject against this backdrop, and the results are amazing. I would venture to say that his style preference is a clue to Andrew’s character; he has deep affection for the continent and other “developing” countries and nations, and believes that beauty can be found everywhere.

Melbourne Rectangular Stadium

With soccer fever bursting around the world and locally in anticipation of the 2010 Soccer World Cup, we thought that only South Africa was building monster stadia! Well, the Australian city of Melbourne will be opening the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium in 2010- pffff talk about shining on S.A’s shine! Anyway- hate aside, the Australians are huge sports fans and we have no doubt that it’ll be put to great use. The $200-million rugby and soccer stadium was designed by Australian outfit COX Architects, and has a capacity of 31,000.


A short walk from the Melbourne city center, the stadium is expected to add to the wonderment of the city’s Olympic Spots Park and Entertainment Precinct. The roof will be covered with thousands of LED lights that can shine in many colors. They will be programmed to follow patterns that mimic the crowd’s energy during a match- soccer with Victory or rugby with Storm- or any other game or event.

Check for more pics at designboom

Santi on Norah Jones' The Fall

Soooooo…I love Santogold. Santigold. Ok, Santigold. Just in case you haven’t received the memo, she had to change her name to Santigold because an 80’s throwback named Santo Gold called and wanted his name back. Really, he wanted to sue. It’s not so bad though, because her real name is Santi anyway. Whatever you want to call her, I was really happy to hear that she’s remixed a track for Norah Jones’ upcoming album fourth album The Fall.

While I’m on the topic of Norah Jones, I cannot wait to get her album because she’s worked with some prolific artists for this project; keyboardist James Poyser (Erykah Badu, Al Green), guitarist Marc Ribot (Tom Waits) and quite a few more. There also remixes that will be done by Beck and The Beastie Boys. Can’t wait!

Artists I Like: Takashi Miike

In the cinema world and amongst film fundis, the name Takashi Miike needs no introduction. He rose to international fame in ’00 when two of his films (Dead or Alive and Audition) blew up on an international platform, thanks to film festivals. He is a director with well over 60 films under his belt, and is often called out for not sticking to what is considered “normal” and he has a penchant for the OTT. This is a man that doesn’t limit himself to the horror genre of ‘the unknown’ but more towards the horror of what people are capable of. Though he prefers not to classify himself under any genre- the horror genre you may find him under is what he’s been classified as, but he doesn’t see himself that way.

"I'm happy that my films were discovered by chance by foreign film festivals. That makes me realise more that there is a world outside Japan too. For me, it's an occasion to meet many people and to experience directly the response of international audiences to my films. But for me as a director, my attitude towards making films hasn't changed with the fame. I feel it's not good to change as a person anyway" - Takashi Miike

In a 2001 interview, he explained that his directing style often includes collaboration with the actors and actresses in which he is more of an “arranger” than a director. In other words, he puts scenes and situations together, makes suggestions to the actors/actresses and they would interpret it for themselves- I think this style allows for his movies to be a little more organic in their nature than a lot of other films. Takashi Miike is also very well known for including (or portraying) people from nationalities other than Japan in his characterisation or in his film crews- as opposed to sticking to a traditional Japanese crew and mix of characters. This is a really important element of his work, as it becomes more inclusive of people from other walks of life, making him more international in his appeal.

Above: The different faces of Takashi Miike

Takashi is not short of emotion or imagination for his work; he is well known for the sometimes gory scenes in his works, as he is always trying to push the envelope regarding societal norms in the cinematically conservative Japanese landscape. If you’re a horror buff and can’t place where you’ve seen Takashi’s face before, you probably spotted him in his cameo scene in Hostel (as Miike Takashi), which he did as a favour for his buddy Quinton Tarantino.

So next time you're craving a good horror movie, go to your nearest good video store and pick up some Tashaki Miike dvd's, you won't regret it!

Polyvore Sets: High End Shit

I love this set, the nike glad's are funk, Married to the Mob always has cool ladies tees and these shorts are just begging to be found by me. I'm on a search, and if all else fails, I'm making a call to a certain lady to sew them for me. Peep the flask.

High End Shit by yummytumz featuring Nike shoes

My Confession

I'm listening to Savage Garden. I found myself singing Truly, Madly, Deeply and then remembered how much I loved the group when I was much younger. I went to Youtube and looked some of my favourite tracks and I'm not totally geeking in the office. I really shouldn't be doing this, but I love it so much; this is definately the Tumi that people get surprised at when they get a peek. Baw! People make so many judgements based on appearance... Anywho, I know some of my friends will never let me live this moment down and for the next two years, I will hear about how I was bumping Savage Garden after I turned 17 - but honestly, I knew nothing about the meaning behind To The Moon and Back, I Want You or even Tears of Pearls at that age. And now I know....a little bit more. So bite me!

District 9 Signals a New Day for (South) African Cinema

So I wrote this piece about two months back, and since the TILTT website is under going maintanance, I decided to put it up here. And why not? :)


I always get upset when The Next Big South African Movie begins to garner local and international attention- and then it turns out to be a film about crime or hiv/aids. It’s not that I don’t think that they are good films- we’ll put it down to personal preference. The thing that gets me though, is that I begin to question whether the only thing that we can use to get the world to look at South Africa is by making the same kind of movies over and over again. Cinema audiences like to be challenged. We want to see ourselves in different genres, not just semi realistic accounts of African suffering in film form used by celebs to find a new cause to up their profiles. South African audiences want to see themselves in romance, comedy, drama and sci-fi. As a relatively new lover of sci-fi, I have always been irritated that none existed in a mainstream South African context so I’m sure you can understand how excited I was in ‘06/’07 when I discovered a short South African sci-fi on youtube. Alive in Joburg (directed by Neill Blomkamp) explored various themes of apartheid- and almost prophetically, zenophobia. I thought this was a great departure in terms of sci-fi, as most sci-fi’s seem to historically challenge issues such as racism, human rights and religion (don’t laugh but I only found out in recent months that Star Trek was a huge challenger of racism, sexism and all those bad isms. I already told you that I’m new to the genre). In this case, Alive in Joburg seemed to me like an honest introspection regarding apartheid, its role and legacy in creating today’s South African society. The documentary-style imagery and visual effects used in the film stayed with me for a long time, and also made me believe that maybe different kinds of films are on the way for South Africa, and Africa.

Fast forward to 2009: I’m doing some regular e-street stalking and I bump into talk of this extraordinary South African film that is being launched to an international audience. At this point, I’m not excited because I’m seeing flashes of Tsotsi, Yesterday and the embarrassing inaccuracies of Jerusalema in my mind’s eye. Oh no. Ah, the film is called District 9. Bleh. Being the curious soul that I am, I googled the title and was incredibly excited when I recognized the style of the film- the lightbulb went off in my head to Alive in Joburg. Produced by sci-fi nerd Peter Jackson (he produced the Lord of the Rings Trilogy), District 9 is Blomkamp’s feature film that weaves various themes and elements established in Alive in Joburg. In District 9, alien refugees (real aliens, of the extraterrestrial variety) find themselves stranded in Johannesburg. Although the alien race had first made contact with earth years before they landed on earth, they arrive not as enemies out to take over the earth (as humans always seem to be very afraid of), but rather as refugees and the last survivors of their planet. The human government is nice enough to set them up in a refugee camp (District 9) managed by a private company while the governments figured out what to do with them. The plot thickens as one of the employees of said private company develops a peculiar virus that begins to change his DNA, he is then ostracized and forced to hide in District 9- with the oppressed black population (the film is set during apartheid South Africa) and the aliens. Without saying too much about a film that I haven’t actually seen (though I am taking the lead from Alive in Joburg), it seems to me that one of the bigger themes that will be explored in the film is how we treat one another within our ‘rainbow nation’- and maybe even address the never-to-go-away question of whether aliens (if they exist) are definitely without a doubt missioning to take over our planet.

I’m not too sure what local funding – if any was used for this film (once again the argument of a lack of available local financing for local stories comes to mind), but I think it’s a good sign if international funders are also looking at different genres and refreshing stories to come out of Africa. I think it’s encouraging to the South African film industry when films that don’t fall within the AIDS/crime spectrum of the South African film sphere get international funding and more especially, attention (the District 9 trailer was released with film X-Men Origins: Wolverine). Peter Jackson is also finally fulfilling his sci-fi nerd dream of presenting his film at the sci-fi nerd convention Comic-Con this year when he promotes District 9. As a South African, it will be refreshing to see my country from a slightly different lens, even though very serious themes are being explored- and I’m sure that many other South Africans will also be very excited to look at their country from the lense of a different genre, finally. I can’t wait to watch this movie and you can be sure that I will score tickets to the premier and I hope the scripting and acting is just as good as the visual work!
P.S Another really cool thing about this movie is the Official Site- it simulates segregation much in the way that the Apartheid Museum does. I really can’t wait!