4 Years to Close a Call

This morning, I was suprised to get a notification that a call I had logged as a student was closed ... almost 4 years after the fact! I appreciate that they follow up I suppose, but it does raise the issue of why the call was not labelled as abandoned or closed much earlier.

Your call reference number 00416274 as described below has been closed and
we trust that the call was resolved to your satisfaction. Should this not
be the case and you need follow up on it , please quote the reference
number 00416274 to the Helpdesk so that we can re-open the call.


Call Information:
-------------------------
Calltype: Bandwidth Access: Bandwidth Access
Date: 2006-06-06 10:14:50
Abbreviated Call Description:
...

Regards

IT Helpdesk
Information & Communication Technology Services (ICTS)
University of Cape Town
Tel: (021) 650-4500

Movie: Okuribito (Departures)

Winner of the 2009 Oscar for Best Foreign Film, it is a somewhat off beat story idea - a cellist without a job (after his orchestra closes down), goes back to his home town, to prepare the dead for their funeral.

It is a story above all about tradition and formality - you hardly ever see the main character without a suit. It is also a story about the value of jobs that do not have high social standing, but have a very meaningful impact on the lives of people; together with a story about lost families, and the need for forgiveness.

It is certainly a special movie - something most western directors would never be able to film IMO; and is a wonderful record of cultural practices.

Movie: Inglourious Basterds

This is probably Quentin Tarantino's best movie to date - combining all his trademark elements of great writing, cinematography, dialogue and story telling (inevitable about revenge) with exceptional acting performances. The setting of the movie itself is impressive - Jewish commandos that are out for revenge - going to collect 100 scalps of Nazis. And off course bring down the Nazi empire. Revisionist movie telling at its finest!

The standout performance is definitely Christoph Waltz as Col. Hans Landa - the "Jew Hunter". Waltz's performance, and role - as the fluent multi-lingual SS colonel, is impressive and his performance alone makes it worth going to watch the movie.

Not so unfit after all ...

Lion's Head in Cape Town has always been a short hike up, and a good inidcation of fitness for me. A few years ago, I could easily do the trip up in under 45 minutes, without breaking in to much sweat. I decided that before I left Cape Town this afternoon, I should do the hike. I haven't been to the top for at least 2 and a half years, probably last time being just before I left for Germany for my internships.

Fearing a much longer trip, I got a very early start. The weather in CT was truning - and a there was a fairly thick cloud cover over the mountains, although the cloud over Lion's Head cleared well before I reached the top. I was fairly surprised that I managed to get to the top in under 60 minutes, although not as effortlessly as in previous attempts. The sun was still low on the horizon, and the clouds were still swirling around, and as CT awoke, it was a pretty amazing sight from the top!

I wish I had my camera along.

Concert in a cathedral

Last night, the JPO had a special concert accompanying the organ of the Anglican Cathedral in Johannesburg. With the misty weather, it was certainly a somber atmosphere, and I must say, most of the organ pieces were equal to the task.

Church organs are impressive, but I am not sure they can really play joyous music. It was certainly an interesting experience, and great to hear a complex musical instrument in full flow; but maybe not something to repeat.

Cape Town's new Departure Terminal

Went through the recently opened departure terminal on Sunday - and it was a great change from the old terminal. Very spacious, and really well designed. There are still some things to be sorted out - like lounges and access notices to the lounges, but overall a really good job!

One complaint about SA airports in general is the continued use of permanent aisle/queue markers. Instead of using temporary markers they insist on installing metal bars all over the place, which are damn inconvinient when you are the only person in the queue.

And one last point - the 15h10 flight on SAA was the big A340 plane, more or less, full capacity. Considering that the Johannesburg-Cape Town flight is the 6th most popular flight in terms of passengers carried in the world, it is not too surprising I suppose. It is a great plane too - a pity that I can't catch it all the time :D

Music: Big City Bash

I think it was the first time bands have played at the Alexander Theatre in Braamfontein. The Rockford Big City Bash was quite well organised, with lots of parking guards, visible security, clean venue, good bar service and a good set up of stage and sound. 5FM DJ Koula was the MC, except she didn't do much other than look pretty. I think she was on the stage less times than the number of bands! Although, I did miss the first band, so she may have done a song and dance before the first band - but I doubt it.

New Academics
I have heard a lot of the band, but apart from a few snippets, I had not really heard any of their songs. They do have an unique edge - the combination of rap like lyrics backed with rock music. However, I don't think their songs are particularly impressive, and neither was the backing music. It is certainly different - but in my opinion, it does not work.

Death Valley Blues Band
It's almost as if I am becoming a groupie, this being the third time I have seen the band live. The fact is, they are a great party band, playing really good music, and playing it very well. A large percentage of the crowd indicated that they have never seen the band before, and the fact that everyone was dancing to the music is good testament to the quality of their show.

Zebra and Giraffe
They exploded on to the scene last year, from seemingly no where. I has not seen them live before, and this was the main motivation to going to the gig. It is even more impressive that they won the MTV Base Best Alternative Rock Band award this year, seemingly after just 18 months or so in existence. I am not sure how to describe their music - it's partly pop-rock (like Coldplay) but with a harder edge than most pop-rock bands. They have a good collection of songs that work well in a live gig, and present a really professional show. In these regards, it is not hard to see why they have been so successful.

Fokofpolisiekaar
I first saw Fokofpolisiekar, early in 2005, when they were known more for their name than the music. In that performance, the band was mostly completely trashed, with lead singer Francois Badenhorst more or less slurring his way through the sets. Given the line-up that day (they were followed by Karen Zoid and the Springbok Nude Girls), it was a great disappointment. The band has definitely matured, and there performance was truly impressive and well worth the extra 20 minutes wait (they arrived late from another gig). Even though they sing completely in Afrikaans (which I know very little of), it was a very enjoyable performance. While earlier it seemed that the band was successful more because of their name and being an Afrikaans punk band, they certainly deserve their success now. They certainly deserved being the headline act.

Music: Rocking the Gardens

I came to know about the concert quite late (Friday night actually), and I am glad I went. Similar in concept to the Kirstenbosch concerts, Rocking the Garden was at the Johannesburg Botanical Gardens at Emmarentia Dam. It was certainly not as scenic as Kirstenbosch, but it did have a very cool family day atmosphere with an absolutely fantastic lineup of bands. They also did not have a restriction on cameras (which is quite rare for concert these days) and thus I took the opportunity to take a lot of photos.

Overall, I think the band timing could have been better. This was effectively a family day out; and thus one would expect the really popular family bands such as Freshlyground to play earlier; before all the kids nod off to sleep and people start leaving. Given the band line-up, I think it may have been better to have a band such as Freshlyground earlier in the day before getting into the more "Adult Rock" bands.

Ashtray Electric


I arrived about 10 minutes into Ashtray Electric's set, and to be honest, they didn't really make an impression. I honestly cannot remember much about their set. Going back on my blog looking for another band, I see that I did actually see them live when they were starting out, and they didn't make an impression back then either :(

Bed on Bricks



I think I first saw Bed on Bricks at Obz Fest, and I have always rated their live performances. They combine good music with great stage performance and are a pleasure to watch. However, I don't think I have heard a single new song since 2005, and although their website claims that they were working on a new album, I don't remember any evidence of that.

Gang of Instrumentals



Gang of Instrumentals are an awesome crossover act - fusing afro-pop/Kwaito sound with Rock backing band. And it really helps that the musicians and the singers are really talented and take the opportunity to show off. Unlike other pop bands, the backing band is not just for support, but are allowed to really showcase their solo playing skills. The lead singer has a really great voice, and they are really a great band to watch live. And this performance was better than their last performance I attended at the Jo'burg Easter Festival.

340 ml


The Mozambican band, based in South Africa has been around for quite a long time, and plays a combination of Jazz, Pop-Rock, Funk, cross-over music - and is actually great as a chill/laid back music. I haven;t really followed them for a long time, and except their last song, none of the songs were familiar to me.

Freshlyground




I haven't really seen Freshlyground too many times since they exploded in the South African public consciousness and became globetrotters. Their music and on stage performances has definitely not deteriorated with all their fame, and the saddest part of the show was actually their rather short set - it was over too quickly! A great mix of old, and some (I think) new songs and overall a great stage performance.

Just Jinjer




I wasn't too sure of what to expect from Just Jinjer - they have after all been out of SA shores for the last few years, and although they have had a number of SA top singles, they haven;t toured since they started their US adventures. They are back in SA (and now back to being based in SA), and they really did a performance showing why they are one of the biggest SA bands, and why they did manage to break out into the International market. It was a mixture of great songs, great music and a great stage performance.