morph is immortal

It's old news, but lovely news. On 1 March hundreds of fans of Morph - and his creator Tony Hart - appeared at the Tate gallery with their own versions of Morph and his friends, creating a "flash mob" of Morphs in Tony Hart's honour. Hart died on January 18 at the age of 83, leaving behind a legacy of crazy plasticine critters, and a fan base across the world who grew up with his inquisitive creations.


It's a beautiful tribute, and one that few people receive - no matter how great they are in life. It's proof the Tony Hart's work touched the lives of thousands - most at an age when they were young, vibrant and excited about the world. A trait he tried to inspire in most of his work.

This is an event I wish I could have been at. Thanks uncle Tony, for giving us Morph :)

Watch the video of Morphs here.

i'm so embarrassed

I turned on the telly this morning for our daily dose of news and the first story I saw left me feeling mortified to be in this country. A feeling I don't relish, but encounter more and more I'm sad to say...

"South Africa Bars Dalai Lama From Peace Conference

South Africa barred the Dalai Lama from a peace conference in Johannesburg this week, hoping to keep good relations with trading partner China but instead generating a storm of criticism.
...
But because the Dalai Lama isn't being allowed to attend, it is now being boycotted by fellow Nobel Peace prize winners retired Cape Town Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former president F.W. de Klerk as well as members of the Nobel Committee.
...
An eclectic mix of Nobel laureates, Hollywood celebrities and other dignitaries are coming to discuss issues ranging from combating racism to how sports can unite people and nations.

But Thabo Masebe, spokesman for President Kgalema Motlanthe, said a high-profile visit by the Tibetan spiritual leader would have distracted from the conference's focus.
...
Tamu Matose, a spokeswoman for Tutu, told the AP that Tutu would not attend "because of the Dalai Lama issue." Tutu was quoted Sunday as calling the barring "disgraceful." "

The man who - whether you believe in Buddhist teachings or not - has been living his life as the 74th incarnation of the reverend Buddha, has been banned from our country. Banned from a Peace conference. Because it would distract from the focus of the conference. The Peace conference. I'm astounded. Ashamed.

Whatever your political reasoning, you've made a mockery of our country yet again. You've made it obvious we'll bend over backwards for anyone who'll give us money. That we're here to be bought. And that you have no real interest in a Peace conference of any kind - you're pandering to a world power, embarrassing your people and making it doubtful anyone will take us seriously. Pathetic. And yes, "disgraceful".


Read the rest of the story here and get a local angle here with News24's story "Dalai Lama 'very disappointed'".

Story update: the conference has been postponed, but CNN is broadcasting that it is unlikely to happen at all. Rather than invite his Holiness, they cancel a conference they've been planning since November 2008.

sundays with craig

Bored on Sundays? Why not spend them with Craig...

From an email I received: "A friend here at work has a friend in Melbourne who has been finding these signs and taking photos of them."



Some say this started in NYC with "notes from Chris", and some like Melbourne Craig better. Either way - hilarious.

cutest new blog

Just because anyone can blog and publish, doesn't make what they put out there worth reading. But I've found a blog I think is totally cute and unique - Saamie Notes. The love of Nadja's life leaves her a little note on each of her work saamies, and these are what she blogs.

Don't you wish your lunch was wrapped like this?


Keep an eye on Saamie Notes for more from Paul's pen...

a birthday to remember

This past birthday has been one of the most memorable of my life. I've never been a big birthday kinda gal, but I think I must have been saving up for this...

On the Friday morning before, I woke up to breakfast in bed and a note from R explaining that I was on my way to Cape Town (!) to be escorted around and about town for a jolly old time. I had no clue about this! I spent the morning packing wondering what on earth was in store for me, and which party dress to take with.

Imagine my absolutely surprise when I got off the plane at CT airport, looking for R's cousins to come fetch me, only to be greeted by my two schoolgirl friends from Durban! He'd flown them there to meet me! Arrgh! There were tears and laughs and more tears, but it was one of the most amazing moments ever. "Hey.. she looks just like... hang on! She is!"

The first thing we did when we got to the flat was open a bottle of champagne to sit and enjoy the view with. It really is a good view. Then it was time to sparkle ourselves up and off to a dinner where we wined, dined and laughed at the bad plastic surgery and cork wedges around us. Good times. And this is where the pictures start...



Saturday morning we spent at the Old Biscuit Mill - awesome food and my new favourite way to spend a Saturday morning. After stuffing our faces, Vanessa bought a camera which is really shit, which makes it really cool. Yeah, I'm working on that one myself still :)

Then it was off to the Design Indaba - but not before taking down Spar's rudely placed sales posters which were stuck right over Vanessa's head! How rude!
The must-do Cape Town sun-downers on Camps Bay followed...


Which, naturally lead on to a night of showing our stuff off in CT. The three Durban brunettes rocked, let me tell you.



It was a fantastic trip, and my birthday didn't end there - but more about that in another blog post as it's taken me long enough just to do this one :)
It was great to see Vanoodle and Nadja, and yes, we need to do that again.
A huge special thanks to my wubby, who gave me the most awesome gift ever. It's a weekend I'll never forget, and one I know he put a lot of work into. Thanks W. xx

[ps: there are more pics in my facebook gallery]
[pps: vanoodle has some beautiful pics on her flickr - you want to see them just to see them]

for the idol fans out there...

White Wedding: Literal Video Version - watch more funny videos