#saelections 2009

So they've come and gone, and much can be said about them, but I think today is more of a celebration - we voted! Yes, we did.
Here are some pics of our voting experience. You can also see a cool collection of inked thumbs here. And hey - why not add yours too! Twitter Nic, or contact him through the site - add your thumb today!





ps: the slightly odd title is from the twitter hash tags people were using around the country to tweet their experiences in yesterday's vote. You can see the full - and growing - collection of voter tweets here.

csi goes trekkie

CBS own the rights to both the Star Trek and CSI franchises, so it was natural (to someone obviously) that the two should cross over at some point. Especially with JJ Abram's massive Trek movie set for launch later this year, AND the sequel of the as-yet-unreleased movie already OK'ed by studio bosses.

Airing next week in the US, CSI fans will be treated to a Star Trek-themed episode of CSI complete with silly costumes. According to SciFiWire.com, in the episode Hodges and Wendy "run into each other at a science fiction convention for one of their favorite classic television shows that is not Star Trek and end up investigating the murder of one of their beloved actors."

There is also reportedly a fantasy-sequences of Hodges imagining himself "the captain of a starship that's not the Enterprise—though it has the Enterprise's sound effects and background score".

This one is definitely JUST for the fans...

Read the full story (and see the bizarre hair and outifts) here.

Update: watch the dream sequence trailer here - it's hilarious! Courtesy of warrenhallett.

makes you think, doesn't it

There's a very apparent split in SA right now between those who are bubbling with excitement for the coming elections, and those who go "when is it again? really? oh.". I suspect - but don't hold me to it - that that split also follows a similar line to that between those who support the ANC and those who don't. I could be wrong though.

What I've encountered is the latter - people who are resigned to the outcome of an election that has yet to happen. People who accept that Jacob Zuma will be our next president. And even if they are determined and excited about South Africa as a country, the opportunities it represents and living here - they're finding ways to do it in spite of the ANC being in power. Not because of.

I've read two articles this morning that again highlight for me the disparity between our country and what is effectively the first world. The world out there. I live here, and make my life here, and make the best of what we have here (it is a beautiful country with many opportunities, don't get me wrong). But I can't help it on days like today letting my mind wander to what it would be like living in another country...

The first article made me smile, and made me think about how something as simple - and universal - as childbirth can be approached so differently in different countries and cultures. I marvel at a culture that can make it seem so hip and inviting. This article makes me want to *be* French.

And while I'm musing on how fabulous this one little (but not so little) change in approach to something so intrinsic must make your life if you happen to be a French woman as opposed to, say, South African, I read this. A scathing portrait of our next (let's be real, shall we) president. A president with four wives, a rape charge, an angry dead wife. A portrait of a country not heading closer to the first world, but further away.

In less than two weeks I will cast my vote. And do what it may, the election won't take my mind from wandering elsewhere... Wondering if it can't all be done just a little differently. A little better. As a young woman living in South Africa, I'm unlikely to be offered la rééducation périnéale après accouchement or given a prescription for abdominal muscle training after childbirth. But that's what I want dammit!

So, a state that labours over discussions on the "true" causes of HIV and whether beetroot helps or not? Or a state that's moved on to other pressing matters, like getting my tummy back in shape after kids?

Flippant? Yes. But that's how I'm feeling today.

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.

r.i.p. tony hart

A man with a great imagination, and a beautiful skill passed away yesterday. Tony Hart died, age 83, peacefully in Surrey.
You'll probably remember one of his greatest creations - Morph.
Tony Hart was also the man who inspired my cousins and I each year in our annual Christmas "production". Using his magazine trace pictures, he helped us create our programme of events year after year with penguins, snowmen and reindeer. I think I still have a collection of those drawing cutouts somewhere, which I'll treasure always.

Thank you Tony, for inspiring us to draw, create and not to be scared of going out the lines.

Not Terminated: Good News for Sarah Connor Fans

According to HollywoodReporter.com, Fox recently ordered the final nine episodes of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles’ second season, giving it a full season order – despite its modest performance in the ratings…

With a less-than-expected ratings average in its Monday night slot, many might be surprised to see the full season pick-up of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. But Fox’s season works a little different to other major US networks – their tide only begins to really rise with the introduction of American Idol to their schedule, so TV execs may be hoping that this second season will benefit from the growth brought on by the hugely popular singing show.

With this order, Terminator is the first 13-episode show from last year’s difficult TV season to receive a definite second season order. Many shows were left floundering after the writer’s strike left them without direction and creative – thus leaving them out of sight and out of mind too long for a TV show’s first year of life. Some have survived, most haven’t; and Sarah Connor is one of the lucky ones.

Other recent pick-ups include Mad Men for a third season, and the quirky courtroom drama, Eli Stone and Sons of Anarchy (premiering on M-Net in November) both for a second season. The popular series about life in the fast lane in Hollywood, Entourage has also been renewed for a sixth season.

Wonders of the Warehouse

Described as part X Files and part Raiders of the Lost Ark, Warehouse 13 is looking to be the ‘funnest’ sci fi coming to our screens this new TV season.

According to HollywoodReporter.com, the Sci Fi network recently ordered a 2-hour pilot of Warehouse 13, the latest project from the creator of Farscape and the executive producers of Battlestar Galactica. Described as part X Files, part Raiders of the Lost Ark and part Moonlighting, Warehouse 13 is an eagerly anticipated dramedy – with sci fi, intrigue, drama, comedy and a little bit of sexual tension all thrown into the mix.

After saving the President’s life, two FBI agents – your typical pairing of a ‘rule-bender’ and a ‘by-the-book ‘– are given a highly classified assignment in the innocuous sounding Warehouse 13. But Warehouse 13 is actually a secret storage facility where the US government has been storing all its paranormal, supernatural and extra terrestrial discoveries and artifacts over the centuries.
Now the duo is touring the country trying to retrieve a number of relics that have gone missing from the Warehouse, while keeping their ears to the ground for any rumblings of new artifacts that may require investigating.

Should the pilot result in a TV series order, it sounds like a recipe for a great character series with a lot of the supernatural built in, as opposed to the other way around. A Fox-Maddie-Indie-Buffy caper if you will!

To Infinity, and Beyond...

After Stargate SG1 was cancelled in 2006 and Stargate Atlantis given its final order for just five seasons, fans of the popular franchise will be thrilled to learn that the story goes on...

Recently, the US-based Sci Fi network gave an order for a full season of Stargate: Universe – the third in the series of the Stargate franchise. The story will be set on the ship originally sent out by the Ancients in a bid to pepper the galaxies with the Stargates – a mission that was never complete. When a band of explorers from Earth come across the unmanned ship, they board it without knowing they cannot use it to return home – for the Destiny has a mission to complete. And it will do so, even with its unwitting crew aboard.

A recent trend on the Sci Fi network, the show will debut as a two-hour movie in 2009 before it begins airing as a regular series not long after – but these episodes are still in development phase.

According to executive producer and writer, Robert C. Cooper, Stargate: Universe "maintains the spirit of Stargate, but opens up a whole new 'universe'." What is different though, is that ‘Universe will not be treated as a spin-off of the previous two Stargates, but will be developed as an entirely new entity. As ‘Atlantis producer, Joseph Mallozzi, stated, ‘Universe aims to "delight veteran fans, but also appeal to newcomers who may not necessarily know the difference between an Alteran and an Asuran". All we can say is thank goodness for that!

For those of us who have missed the previous success of SG1 and Atlantis, it’s nice to know our limited knowledge of Lanteans, Ori and Wraith won’t be a hindrance to enjoying this new series.

Watch Executive producer Brad Wright speak about the “state of the universe”

Fringe Benefits

He’s had audiences around the world “Lost” for years, and now JJ Abrams is back - for “Fringe” benefits…

The creator of hit TV series Alias and Lost is back with a brand new project. Described as a cross between the The X Files, The Twilight Zone and Dark Angel, Abrams threatens to keep audiences glued to their screens yet again – and who can say for how long this time.

His latest creation, Fringe, stars Dawson’s Creek’s Joshua Jackson as the son of a research scientist played by John Noble. Father and son have been estranged since Noble’s character, Dr Bishop, was sent to prison on manslaughter charges after a lab accident 17 years ago.

They’re brought together again by an FBI agent on a mysterious case following “the Pattern” – a series of bizarre experiments happening around the world. She needs to discover their source, and only Dr Bishop can help her – his specialty just happens to be “fringe” science (the study of what most believe to be impossible in the natural world).

Fringe was recently given a full-season order, making its first season 22 episodes long.

Can Abrams weave his hypnotic spell once again?

Eddy and Patsy Take on LA!

Eddy and Patsy are taking on Los Angeles! But in a trend that seems to be sweeping US studios, it’s not the Eddie and Patsy we know and love – they’re now American…

Absolutely Fabulous - the hit five-season British comedy series starring Joanna Lumley and Jennifer Saunders that made Chanel, Dior and Lagerfeld household names, had the world calling each other “sweetie darling” and got the Pet Shop Boys back on to the billboard charts - is crossing the Atlantic.

According to Variety.com, Fox is developing a redo of AbFab that will “retain the basic template of the original, revolving around the friendship of two boozy, over-40 best friends who are desperate to stay hip and youthful”.

While Saunders is joining the project as executive producer, we doubt an American duo of fading fashionistas is going to be nearly as funny as the alcohol-soaked, ex-model, beehived Patsy, and the guru-chasing, kaftan-wearing Edina. Isn’t LA full of those sorts anyway?

The US seem to be looking to their UK counterparts more and more for inspiration – or downright plagiarism - and are even reaching as far as Australia for ideas. The upcoming Fall TV schedules in the US include no fewer than three direct copies of shows from other territories: Britain’s The Eleventh Hour and Life on Mars, and Australia’s Kath & Kim are all making their debut – albeit Americanized.

In the past, remakes of this nature have fallen on both sides of the ratings fence, with Ricky Gervais’ The Office becoming an Award ceremony-hit, while Brit favourites Men Behaving Badly and Fawlty Towers (as “Payne” starring John Laroquette) barely made it out the stable.

It could be another case of “lost in translation” but only time – and ratings – will tell.

"Gautrain construction devastating Gauteng Gummi bear communities "

"JOHANNESBURG. They're dashing and daring, courageous and caring, faithful and friendly with stories to share, but hundreds of Gummi bears have already been pulped by tunneling machinery under Johannesburg. According to conservationists, the Gautrain will wipe out Gauteng's population of the magical bouncing bears "far more quickly than Duke Igthorn could ever have imagined".

Construction workers on various Gautrain tunneling sites say they are finding fewer and fewer traces of the magical bears.

"It used to be that we'd see them once every couple of weeks," said mechanic Josiah Mphundu.

"We'd break through some rock, and we would see these bears, bouncing here and there and everywhere.

"But not any more."

...

Conservationist Eric Monkey-Chandler said that efforts to save the remaining bears had been hampered by a lack of knowledge about the secretive animals.

"Magic and mystery are part of their history," he said. "

Read more of this devastating story here - it's your civic duty!

Heath Ledger found dead in New York

A sad news story.

His life in pictures.

I'm doing too many of these lately...

steve's done it again

Steve Jobs, head of Apple, has announced a new toy. Welcome the Macbook Air.
It's 56 % thinner than the Macbook Pro, making it the thinnest notebook on the market. Think Thinnovation.

I read in an interview this morning that "the machine is a reversal of field for Mr. Jobs, who in the past has insisted that less-than-full-featured laptops are undesirable", so we can only assume that this Macbook lacks some of the features others carry - it's been seriously slimmed down. Apple, smartly, have not yet released the spec, so it's not easy to see exactly what they've left off. Noticeably though, a few of the ports are missing - the cable you'd stick into them are thicker than the notebook itself!

I'm keeping this page bookmarked on my browser to see what other info they release - I like it. But I wouldn't rush out and pre-order just yet...

UPDATE: they've left off the optical drive, firewire ports, and there's only one USB port. Although you can get external extensions for these, that defeats the oject of having something so slim. I use these ports a hell of a lot more than I'd use the 2 hours extra battery or the multi-touch track pad. I'll wait for version 2.0...

Shu Uemura, 1928 - 2007

"LEGENDARY Japanese make-up extraordinaire Shu Uemura, who built an international cosmetics brand under his name, died of acute pneumonia in Tokyo on Dec 29. The news of his death was released on Tuesday. He was 79.
...Uemura believed that “beautiful skin is essential for beautiful make-up”. To him, beautiful skin was the canvas for make-up and the secret to beautiful skin started with gentle, thorough cleansing. That’s why his cleansing oils are central to the brand’s concept of beauty...
...Other than the brand’s signature cleansing oils and cosmetics, Uemura expanded his brand to include elegant handmade make-up brushes, perfumes, and fake eyelashes and eyelash curlers."
More on the rise of Shu Uemura

If you love your make-up, or ever instpired to one day be as perfectly made up as Dita or Marilyn, this is a sad story. Shu make the most beautiful products - and have eyelashes to die for. I have 2 pairs, and their legendary curler.

No One Could Save Benazir Bhutto.

This week's TIME magazine cover story:

Benazir Bhutto's assassination has plunged the Muslim nuclear power into chaos. Now the Bush Administration must help undo decades of flawed U.S. policy to save Pakistan
Full Story.

a story update

Here's an update on the aftermath of the assassination of Benazir Bhutto:

Ministry backtracks on Bhutto sunroof claims
"Pakistan's Interior Ministry backtracked Tuesday on its statement that Benazir Bhutto died because she hit her head on a sunroof latch during a shooting and bomb attack."
Full Story

Pakistan Elections Delayed by a Month
Elections will be delayed by one month following the turmoil sparked by Benazir Bhutto's assassination, despite opposition threats of street protests unless the crucial vote is held Jan. 8 as originally planned, a top official said Tuesday.

A senior Election Commission official told The Associated Press that the commission has agreed on a new date. He indicated it would not be before the second week of February, but refused to disclose the exact schedule before the formal announcement on Wednesday.
Full Story

Bhutto’s Son and Husband to Lead Party
Three days after the death of Benazir Bhutto, the Pakistan People’s Party on Sunday chose her 19-year-old son, Bilawal, and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, as co-leaders of the party, the biggest and most potent in Pakistan.
Full Story

Scotland Yard to join Bhutto slaying probe
President Pervez Musharraf invited Britain's Scotland Yard on Wednesday to help investigate the slaying of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, but his effort to defuse widespread suspicions of government complicity seemed unlikely to convince an angry nation.
Full Story

"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