"New Questions Arise in Killing of Ex-Premier"

I read this headline this morning, and thought what? who's dead? what happened? I've been so unplugged over this season that GW Bush could have defected to Ireland and I wouldn't have had a clue. But this story sends a chill down my spine.

Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan's ex Prime Minister (twice!) was killed on Sunday. This, after only recently returning to her country after a self-imposed exile of nearly ten years.

She was the first women to be elected to lead a Muslim country. She was elected into the position twice, and twice removed by presidents at the time on alleged charges of corruption. Her chosen exile to Dubai followed. Her recent return was based on an agreement with the current government that these charges would be dropped and she be granted amnesty.

Her death comes just two weeks before the scheduled Pakistani general election of 2008 where she was a leading opposition candidate - again. And from her position in the news lately, it's likely she would have caused a serious stir in these elections.

I've been watching news stories about her with interest. This woman so strong in an unashamedly male-dominated society. This woman not only willing to take on the status quo, but who's been garnering more and more support as she goes along. Not even in a Western country can we point to a woman this strong. Not a single one. She stands alone, and she's intrigued me for a while now.

And now this... :

"Athar Minallah, a board member of the hospital where Ms. Bhutto was treated, released her medical report along with an open letter showing that her doctors wanted to distance themselves from the government theory that Ms. Bhutto had died by hitting her head on a lever of her car’s sunroof during the attack."


Where are we in the world where someone like this can be swept away, and there's precious little we can do about it. Who will take her place now?
Someone asked me on Christmas day to name a hero - someone in the world I admired. Anyone. And I couldn't think of anyone. I wanted to pick a woman and couldn't think of a single strong woman to choose. Yet here she is, a woman to inspire us all. A beautiful, strong woman who was leading a nation. For me she's woken something up, and I hope her death does a lot more than that around the world...

An interactive timeline of Benazir Bhutto’s life and career

four!

A few weeks ago, Robin took me to the golfing range to go hit my very first golf ball. I loved it! My little balls went shooting all over the place - anywhere but straight - and not at all far, but what fun! As a result, I decided I wanted to take up golf. Or at least give it a fighting swing.
Three weeks ago we found ourselves in a Pro Golf shop and there were SALES! I walked out with a full golf kit - my very own set of ladies clubs, a Puma bag and a little Puma outfit to match - not forgetting my little white glove of course. I was ready and set! Bring on the scorecards! Unfortunately, my one day swinging wildly on the driving range was still my only experience.

On Friday though, we went for our very first lesson. Robin to improve his game, me to start mine. After half an hour, and a few tweaks to what I had been doing, I can now swing a golf club, and get my ball to actually go some distance - and in a straight line! So it's started. I've embarked on my new hobby and I'm thrilled. We live next door to a golf course so what better time to take advantage.

Did I mention we also own Tiger Woods' PGA Xbox game, and a net a tee pad in our backyard for practicing at home...? :)

merry kissmas!!!

Merry Christmas everyone - hope you're relaxing and enjoying the time off. And that you're playing with the spoils of yesterday - I know I am ;o)
That red box in the front - that's MINE!

a smile for a december afternoon

it just doesn't get better than this :)

cigars, old friends, new friends, spicy fish, good wine

I feel I need to write something today - it's been too long since I did. But I'm hung-over. I can't think straight. I'm tired. So instead, here's a toast to the old friends I've re-found, the new ones I've made, and the wonderful spicy fish my husband made for us all last night :)

oh - and a picture of the new guy that arrived yesterday! Cute but macabre, meet Andrew Bell's Kanser:

call me in the future

"Concept" models are always really great. And sometimes we're lucky - sometimes they get made (to a degree of their original design).
The BMW concept store in Paris is amazing - cars that run on grass, flowers that sing - all that fun imaginative sort of stuff :)

Here's a concept phone I'd love to see made: the Nokia 888 Communicator

"The bracelet-like 888 is envisioned to use a liquid battery, feature speech recognition, a flexible touch screen, and a touch sensitive body cover."

Can't you just SEE the fab accessories!

that 70's fashion

Someone sent this to me, and I thought it was pretty funny:

"Last weekend I put an exhaust fan in the ceiling for my wife's grandfather. While my wife's brother and I were fitting the fan in between the joists, we found something under the insulation. What we found was this:


A JC Penney catalog from 1977. It's not often blog fodder just falls in my lap, but holy hell this was two solid inches of it, right there for the taking."

This one's a gem, but read the full scathing blog post here:

finding a silver lining

On Saturday, very excited about the new apple OS Leopard, and dying to try out things like time machine, quick view and build stacks - I mean, who doesn't want a 3D dock with STACKS!!!! - I tried to upgrade my little iBook.

I suppose "little" is the key word. Or "outdated". Or "defunct". Either way, the upgrade crashed my entire machine. And after two days of trying every trick I could find online, I eventually went with the clean-and-sweep. You effectively overwrite the upgrade with your original OS - everything from scratch. There was a "previous system" folder which I think a higher power probably could have used to reinstall all my preferences and info. But with just 2G now left on my machine I opted for the clean up. And watched glumly as 15G worth of data was wiped out... *sheds a tear*

As you can imagine, what I was left with was a lot of nice clean fresh empty space. Not a single preference. Not an image. Not an email. Not an address. Not a wallpaper. Everything i've saved and customised over the last two years is gone.
And while on the verge of tears I started the job of bringing my beloved little iBook back to life - internet bookmarks, msn profile pics, mail setups - everything.

It's the kind of story that would send a shudder down any tech geek's spine. Losing all that data and info. Spending weeks remembering what it was you lost. And having to start again.
But I've found my silver lining. I'm treating it as a much-needed spring clean. I now have only the applications I really want, I'm filing stuff properly and finally see the value in apple's little colour labels for files. I'm making my machine better than it ever was.

So, apple, while you refuse to even ackowledge the existance of my little Acorn on your site (just try searching "ibook" on apple.com) mine has once again become my little companion I couldn't do without.
So there.

Zaha Hadid

When we were in New York in 2006, we came across a vase in an Alessi store that Robin fell in love with. After a brief exchange with the sales assistant, we found out it was designed by a woman named Zaha Hadid, and that she was currently exhibiting at the Guggenheim museum right there in NY. The next day we took a trip out there to find out more about her, and so we stumbled on yet another amazing designer...

She operates primarily as an architect, and has been designing the most amazing buildings since the 80s (most of which couldn't be built at the time because they just didn't have the materials and know-how to put such fantastic creations into shape) but designs furniture, bags - just about anything. A true designer who can put her flavour on to any object.

I saw another exhibition of hers in London at the London Design Museum with a friend, and while I'd seen most of it already, she had a whole new floor of material that was just astounding. Aside from the couch I wish wish wish I could somehow fit into our home, there was also this set of cutlery. I love it. Besides the fact that it retails for $250 for a five piece set (!), I would be eating with them tomorrow if I could. :)
Other projects by Zaha Hadid:
BMW Plant in Leipzig, Germany
London 2012's Olympic aquatic centre
Opus, to be built in Dubai - pretty amazing
The Z Car - a hybrid car
Alessi vase - the one we have

I Heart Design

It's been a while since I blogged here on my little space - Facebook really does seem to be the all-encompassing. But I've decided to change that. My blog has been important to me as a place to keep those little things I find that I like along the way. Facebook can now just be the bin for all those pics blogger finds it so hard to deal with :)

So as my first post back, let me join the two...

I've started a group on FB called "i heart design" - it's for those of you who enjoy design, love finding new ways to structure things, and love things that are quirky and beautiful. It's here: i heart design

I've also created various albums on that side which I think I'll link to from here as we go. But, it's nice to be back... :)

If I wait just a lil longer...

officially the coldest day this year

The N1 in jozi this morning.

go chat moments and people

After three years of working on go chat (weekdays on GO, channel 10, at 17:00), I've met some very interesting people from international DJs to local music and sporting heroes. I've been searching for a photo blog to upload all my pics from the show, and have finally created one in facebook. You can see my album here.

rss feeds

Are you a TV fan? Then keep an eye on the RSS feeds at the bottom of this page (until I can figure out how to move them) which bring you the latest info from the M-Net website. You'll get news on new shows starting, old faves ending, and movies to look out for. Simple!

dancin' doughboy

This should make "Friday" go much faster... make the Pillsbury Doughboy dance! You can select from his down-and-dirty dance moves, and contruct a dance sequence - it even has a grand finale! Do you want him to disco, do the shuffle, or do the hustle?

daddy's little soccer tyke

fifi lapin

a little arb, a little strange, but cute none-the-less... who wouldn't take fashion tips from a bunny?

hola!

We're back from a wonderful holiday in Europe! 10 days travelling from Spain to France - and trust me when I say Paris is the most beautiful city in the world! As with our NY trip, I've started a wordpress blog to detail the trip, where you get daily accounts from our diary and the pictures too - there's just too much to put here.

It's not done yet, but visit here to follow it's progress.

the weirdest thing just happened

durban goes apocolyptic

ipod therefore i am

I've been wanting to create a podcast for a while now. Not that I have anything particularloy revealing to say, but it looks like it'd be a lot of fun. Much like this blog - it doesn't always matter how many people are reading or not - it's about what I'm keeping here. But I have to admit, it's seemed a little daunting - podcasts on iTunes are so professional, and have such a huge viewership, how can I hope to create anything like that? It's just seemed like something other people in other countries do.
Well, now there's an incentive, and a little guidance. As they said in the dot-com boom- "all I need now is a good idea".

american idol 6

I've never been an Idols - or even reality - fan. But this season of American Idol has really got me hooked - we rush home to watch our double episodes, because it's two hours of sheer entertainment. And it's so incredibly well done - impeccably well edited and scripted. And Ryan is a hoot!
These americans are crazeeeeee! In particular, you have to meet Ian. He auditioned on So You Think You Can Dance before, and it was equally hideous - and hilarious.



Here's his dance audition.

If you haven't seen it yet, make a date with Simon, Tuesdays and Wednesday on M-Net Series - it's well worth it.

outdoor wallpaper

Robin found this amazing product called Outdoor Wallpaper. We saw something similar at the MOMA store in San Francisco, but not used to this extend - it's really beautiful. It creates durable patterns of damask that you can hang outside anywhere you want - and if you're anything like me, damask rules.
I've always liked wrought iron bits outside, but only because I thought they were the only option - outdoor wallpaper wins - now if only they'd bring it here...

work peeps

Us at our work Bosberaad in the Drakensburg in January of this year.
Yes, that is the YMCA. :o)

wonderboom cd launch

See my pics from the concert here on the GO website.

youtube

Partly out of curiousity, and partly for work I decided to register on YouTube. It took me flipping forever - millions and millions of users do tend to whittle down the usernames you can have - but it's pretty easy to set up after that. Now I don't have too many videos, but watch this space - I find myself inspired (new camera WILL have filming ability)!!!
If not for my vidoes, check it out for those I've marked as favourites. And I'm always on the lookout for more.

As of my birthday, I am now angelonfilm. :o)

moyo on sundays

I love moyo zoo lake on Sundays. Their food is not nearly as glam or metropolitan as the moyos in town and melrose, but it's just such a unique setting. And it's flipping close to home. Their deco is beautiful, the outdoors expansive, and there's nothing better than whiling away an afternoon on one of their couches sipping chardonnay.
My usual culinary favourite is the chicken ... , but while there on Sunday last week (robin's family was in town) I decided to go with the buffet instead - we all did! And it was such a spread. What was meant to be a fairly quick bite to eat turned into a full afternoon of drinks, more drinks, and constant eating. I haven't had that many meringues in a while...

Sam, robin and moi

my new favourite picture of us

stuff on my cat

Stuffonmycat.com rocks! And not just because I have a cat I'm likely to take advantage of. People literally submit pics of their cats covered in...stuff.
This picture from the front page of the site today cracks me up. And Robin said I couldn't wrap my kitties in cling wrap...

I have the calendar too.

happy birthday to meeeeeee!

It's today! It finally is - it's my birthday! I've had the most amazing day so far...
Robin and I went to see Wonderboom launch their new CD last night. The venue was a bit odd for a live gig, but it was good to see them again. It wasn't their best perfomance, but they're always a crowd pleaser. I also took photographs for the first time in years. Proper rock gig scuse-me-i'm-coming-through-and-i-have-a-camera pics. It's been so long, and those were always my favourite to do. It's such a rush, and I think i'm pretty good at getting in there and getting the shot I want. Anyway, last night was the first time in a long time, so I was a little rusty, and I was using an unfamiliar camera, but it felt so amazing. I've resovled to get myself a decent camera again (mine died), and actually start chasing the pics again. It's a little different from before, as I'm not working towards a student portfolio, or to complete a project, but I want to get my body of work back up. So look out guys - you going to be seeing me under your stages a lot more from now on :o)

We got home by midnight, so we could be all ready for the start of the big day, and Robin had prezzies. And boy did Robin have prezzies! I got sooooo spoiled. I recommend all women send their men off overseas weeks before their birthdays :o)
And the thing about my prezzies - they're so totally me. So completely well chosen for me. I'm not sure many people would appreciate that I got a TEN INCH TOKIDOKI TREXI!!!!! But OMG that's huge! :oD
There were music videos, vinyl toys, bonsai trees, wallpaper vinyls, chocolates, an external drive designed by Porche (!) - all while sipping our valentine's champagne. We eventually fell asleep after 1.

This morning I got woken up by a really, really early phone call. Needless to say I stuck it under a pillow. Then it was time for more prezzies! More vinyl toys, tim burton toys, clothing, jewellery, victoria secrets make up! It's all just too much I tell you.
In fact, I think I should leave work right now and go home to play with my loot.

Into work, and one of my colleagues had left me a gift on my desk. She's so incredibly sweet. She's remembered mine and robin's birthdays every year for the last three years. My close friends don't even always get that right. And then there were my birthday emails - thanks guys - I love it when people remember :o)

So all in all, it's shaping up to be a really good day. We haven't decided yet what we're doing tonight, but it's either dinner somewhere, or at home watching season one of Scrubs (which I got us for Valentine's day). Looking forward to it :o)


Thanks everyone - you've made it a wonderful day.

gloomy bear

Gloomy Bear is unlike any character to come out of Japan you may have seen before. He's cute, he's pink, and he's attacked and maimed his owner :ol
He's so bizarre. He's so cute and cuddly, and yet dangerous and crazy-like. In this cartoon, Pity (the little boy) dreams of all the things he's going to do with his new favourite pet, Gloomy. But Gloomy's reaction is anything but cute and cuddly - he knees Pity and sinks his teeth into the back of his head!
Robin brought me a vinyl Gloomy from London, and he's brilliant - he's got blood splashes all over him, and red plastic blood dripping from his mouth.
Gloomy is designed by Mori Chack, and has become a major franchise in Japan, much like Hello Kitty - but darker. He's the Hello Kitty for a generation that can now see the world clearly as a pretty dark place, where not everything works out the way you planned it. He's sitting next to my bed at the moment :o)

jose gonzalez

We went to go see Jose Gonzalez performing live at Wits Unitversity last week (the guy who did the music they use for the sony bravia bouncing balls ad).
While I like his music, I admit I didn't know too much about him. Turns out his parents are Argentinian, but he's Swedish. He doesn't speak too much english. And he plays guitar like he was born with one in his hands. It's amazing to watch - I've never seen anyone re-tune their guitar between songs to change the key. Simply amazing.
It was a little disappointing that he didn't have more original music, but his covers are really cool too. Besides "Heartbeat", the track that made him famous, actually being from The Knife (who you HAVE to try get a hold of), he did a pretty cool version of Kylie's "Hand on your Heart".
All in all, I'm really pleased we went - add to the list of things done in 2007: "see live international acts " - TICK!


Did I mention we went to meet him and get our CDs signed?

my blog, my old friend

So it turns out 2007 is even more intense than 2006 - and it's only February. So much has happened to us this year already - funerals, road trips, overseas travelling, renovations - it's crazy. I haven't been on my little blog for a while. There was a particular post I was waiting to write, but I think I'll write that one when I find the right space. Until then, I'm not going to let it stop me from blogging - synchronicity be damned! I miss my blog, my old friend :)

worldgettingsmaller

Robin spent the last week in Nigeria - it sounds hideous. Although I suppose it depends on your point of view. He's putting together a blog - it's really worth a read. I know its nothing I was expecting.

bless this chick

I finally made my very own chick :)
You can make your own one here. They're really cute, and you can make one for someone else too...

just chillin' in the corridor

i have an alessi cat

Although russia is suddenly the big kitty in the house, it doesn't stop him from reliving his kitten days from time to time. He's playing on my study floor in one of the bags we brought back from New York - with an alessi cat bowl in it.

happy new year!

Before I forget - HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone! It's January 1, and there are 358 days to kissmass, and a hell of a lot to get done before then!
Some of my they're-not-resolutions-they're-good-ideas-for-extending-yourself are:

• gym more
• mosaicking course
• drawing course
• scuba lessons
• find a new career path
• learn to cook at least one full servable meal
• learn to play one full piano piece
• read more

There are more, but I can't think of them right now. I'll add them here as I go, so that I can keep a record.
And then you can't really blunder forward without taking stock of the year gone by. So, what I've achieved/gained/learned:

• I learned the value of true friends - those that you'll have with you for years to come. And those relationships that are not worth flogging
• got engaged!
• went to new york, san fran, vegas - trip of a lifetime
• first ever voice over work
• bought my first car - brand new
• moved to greenside
• got a new job description
• learned that it's not always about you - some things just aren't your fault
• vegas arrived - only just in time for this list!
• first ever spa treatments - wheee
• opened a money market account

It's been a pretty busy year - and a pretty good year. And I think next year is going to be even more. Direction is a good thing...

our little animal kingdom

Robin literally cannot move in the house without being surrounded by all the animals. It's crazy - and it drives him nuts. They tend to congregate everywhere he goes. This is treat time in the kitchen - two staffies and a kitty waiting to see what morsels they're going to come away with tonight. This pic was taken before little Vegas arrived, so you can imagine the scenes now...

couch shopping

This is us couch shopping for the cottage on a Friday afternoon. What better way to start the weekend. We're looking in particular for a big L shape couch you can laze on. We found a big wicker outdoor one. And the white leather. Stumped. So we didnt buy anything in the end. But hey - this is us couch shopping :o)