Heidelburg

It is definitely one of the most picturesque cities I have visited - complemented with the spectacular colours of Autumn. The "old town" is quite well preserved, and unusually bustling with activity - and is one of the major tourist attractions of Germany. Unfortunately, I only had a few hours to spend in Heidelburg (I made it a day trip from Frankfurt) and missed spending time really exploring some of the more interesting parts of the city.



The city is dominated by the ruins of the old royal castle, which is being partly restored. The castle grounds are massive, and provides a stunning view of the city and surrounding areas. However, I think the reconstruction starts to lose some of the charm of the whole ruins - and destroys an essential part of the appeal.



An interesting component of the castle itself, is the massive wine barrels. They were actually used, but not for long. I just wonder how the got all that wine in the barrel in the first place.



Heidelburg is university town, and many of the old buildings in the Altstadt (Old Town) features ties to the original university establishment. The university was first established in the 1300's thus making Heidelburg one of the oldest universities in Europe. It continues to be a university town, and a place of research including the world famous Max Planck Physics Institutes.


Behind the castle, up on the hill is Koenigsthul - which provides a magnificent view of the entire area. Unfortunately, the weather was not perfect, and the full impact was not visible.

Frankfurt at Night

For the rest of the week, I was in Bensheim on a training course - where I did not have time to explore the area (course ran more or less from 8am to 10pm every day). But, I don't think I missed much.

My initial plan was to go straight to Heidelburg, but all the hotels were booked out, and so I decided to base myself in Frankfurt. Despite it being an old town on the banks of a massive river, I have always found Frankfurt to be a bit dull - but the city lights did present an opportunity to take some interesting pictures.

Darmstadt

South of Frankfurt, Darmstadt is very much a technology town, featuring a Fraunhofer Institute (for Security), a well regarded university, and one of the big centres for Deutsche Telekom - research labs, offices etc. Like many other towns, the old town centre is quite well preserved and features a number of palaces, statues and old buildings. Unfortunately, I did not have much time in the town - I arrived as sun was setting and then left the following day after my work engagements.

More on Poznan

Poznan is supposedly the birthplace of the Polish nation - and the explanation given by the tourist information is fairly simple. In the 900's, the king of the area was baptised (to what would later become the Poznan Cathedral) and thus began Poland. It is quite clear that religion plays an active role in Poznan - there are many churches, and almost all of them are busy. Even on Saturday, when I was walking around Poznan, I could not really go and explore inside the churches becuase there was Mass or some other activity going on.



Classical music is also a big cultral event in Poland; and there are many concerts and events for classical music, especially featuring Chopin. The conference dinner featured a short performance by a string quartet (from a highly rated local music school) and I also went to a performance in Poznan. The latter however was slightly disappointing in the sense that it featured a German Bass Band and not Polish performers. But what was amazing was that people crammed into the theatre (of the Poznan University of Music), stood in the aisles and sides and was also crammed with kids. There was a very busy buzz of activity from people of all ages - and was not a snotty affair of well dressed people sipping champagne.



Poznan was also meant to be the easternmost residence of the last German Kaiser Wilhelm II, and he even built his castle/palace in the turn of the 20th century for that reason. It is very close to the centre of Poznan, and was opposite the venue of the conference.



A fort on a small hill near my hotel, also features a small military musuem. I did not have time to explore the museum, but they had a lot of WW2 era tanks, aeroplanes and other vehicles.



Amongst the beuaty of the old buildings and the striking new glass buildings are the dreary soviet buildings. My hotel was one of them ... certainly not one of the most comfortable or value for money hotels in my opinion.

Virtual Goods 2008

Or to give its full name, "6th International Workshop for Technical, Economic and Legal Aspects of Business Models for Virtual Goods incorporating the 4th International ODRL Workshop", held in Poznan, Poland. This workshop has had some interesting history; and I thoroughy enjoyed it last year and brings together a number of different aspects of computer science. As we become more digital, the concept of a virtual good becomes more tangible; and some of the ideas explored in the conference are more realistic that ever!

There were a few really interesting talks and presentations. The host university, demonstrated a virtual museum system, which had a wonderful way to interact with 3D virtual objects; in a very low tech solution; and a presentation by the general chair on why the "free" economic theory ultimately will not work was very interesting.

With authors from 6 continents (no one from South America, but a presenter from Tahiti!), there was a small, but very diverse group of papers and people. This was a very good workshop, and I hope I can contiue to be involved.

Toilet Signs

The Poles use different signs to indicate male and female toilets - an useful guide to anyone needing a toilet in Poland :)

Triangle: Male
Circle: Female

Very different to other places in the world, and somehow more baffling ...

Poznan

It's reputedly the oldest town in Poland - oldest surviving town that is. And it shows - penty of old European buildings - but not as well preserved as those in Bruges :p But there is also a lot of Soviet influence - my hotel for one - and a bit of more modern influence. So the architectural mish-mash makes this place quite facinating.

Poland is reputedly cheap - but I am not sure why this reputation exists? My hotel for example is definitely not worth the money I am paying in my opinion - it is not bad per say; but definitely a bit overpriced. The same goes for the restaurants and cafes - the prices seem a lot steeper; even when converted and compared in Euros. But then other prices are very reasonable - the taxi from the airport to the hotel was quite reasonable for example - so I suppose it all balances out.

Overall, it has been interesting - there is no visibility of beggars or struggling people; but it's not posh - there are not too many fancy cars or shiny houses. It is I suppose, very industrial.

A big plaza near the centre of town

The University of Economics (host of conference)

A side street with some old buildings

"Merchant Quarter" of the old town centre

A WW2 Memorial (plus Autumn leaves)

Car Insurance

So, the car I was driving since I came up to Jo'burg has been written off (although not strictly true). Basically, I stopped behind a person dropping off people (as if it was a taxi) and then I got hit from behind. The damage was a lot more than the value of the car; so it got written off.

Which is all a bit ironic; simply because I have been meaning to buy a new car anyway. But it is still damn inconvenient - I have had to rent a car for the past week or so; so that I can get around.

But what has been really interesting is getting quotes for car insurance. Being a single male aged 25; I automatically attract high premiums. In fact, I was told by one insurance agent that any car with an engine capacity over 1.6 l is considered high performance!

But what I found interesting is also the factors they do not consider when calculating risk; such as the regularity in consumption of alcohol, main driving routes, amount of Km travelled, time of travel and the maintenance record of the car - all the main factors that contribute to accidents.

Also interesting is the fact that many of the "low insurance" adverts were not low - Outsurance came out the most expensive (R4500!), Budget Insurance and Dial Direct were cheaper but still over R500 more than the quote I did take in the end. Also - Dial Direct, Budget etc - they are all still brokers - just brokers fronting for one specific insurance underwriter. So much for skipping the middle man.

So, I will get my car on 1 Nov (I am not in Jo'burg for most of October); and will post about that then ...

Movie: In Bruges

Bruges is a medieval town in Belgium; or as Ray (Colin Farrel) calls it in the movie - Hell on Earth. There are two hitmen hiding away after a job (which went slightly wrong); and it's a comic gem. Very fast dialogue - very English. It is a gangster movie meeting a comic movie set in an historic town. And it is done very well!

Movie: Vanaja

I don't usually watch Indian movies - well bollywood style movies anyway. It's not really the song and dance routines that bug me - but the actual storylines are usually all the same.

Vanaja, is I suppose also a movie about song and dance - but not the traditional musical. It is about a young village girl, who wishes to learn to dance the traditional Indian dance; and is taught by the mistress of the house where she works as a servant.

The storyline is somewhat heartbreaking; and somewhat bold for an Indian movie (dealing with child abuse for example) - the dancing is spectacular; and there is visible improvement as Vanaja improves through her training - giving a very authentic feel to the movie. And the writer/director submitted the movie as part of his Master's thesis!

Altech vs ICASA and 28 Others: The Minister Appeals

ICASA did not appeal the judgement; and in my interactions with ICASA, I have learnt that many inside ICASA are happy that they did not appeal the judgement. Managed liberalisation or not; the over all feeling on the matter was that opening up the market was the way to go.

But the minister of communications has decided to muddy the waters once again - and apparently it is for our collective good. In her infinite wisdom, the minister (although there are claims it is more the DG and not the minister herself) has decided to appeal the judgement. And most striking argument that the minister proposes is the following:

If VANS licensees are allowed to obtain Individual-ECNS licenses under license conversion, government’s managed liberalisation policy will be seriously undermined to the detriment of the Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) industry.

I can already see two major arguments against this statement. First, the minister did not make this argument in the case itself. While there was an argument about managed liberalisation being affected; the argument was not extended to the effect it will have on the broader industry - just to Neotel.

But it is last part that is quite funny - that giving VANS i-ECNS licenses will be to the detriment of the ICT industry. The ICT industry is composed of three types of companies: VANS (communications), software development and standard hardware/software service and support. There are 600 VANS licensees - and they all benefit from having i-ECNS licenses. So presumably; the other components will be affected by VANS licensees having iECNS licenses.

The question is - how exactly will this affect the ICT industry negatively? The minister's arguments in the appeal, will be, if nothing else - hilarious.

Whackjobs

Part of the Arts Alive initiative, Whackjobs was a one off stand up comedy show at the Bassline in Newton (on Saturday night). Hosted by the very politically incorrect John Vlismas; it was definitely one of the best stand-up comedy gigs I have been to.

The best part of stand up, is the freshness - comics can make jokes about what has happened in the recent past. And this weekend's political turmoils were exploited by most of the comedians. The variety was also impressive - and Alyn Adams' musical parodies was one of the more unique acts of the week.

Movie: Tropa de Elite (Elite Squad)

Most of the movies I have seen featuring Rio de Janeiro are about the favelas, or the slums, the druglords and the gangs that rule the favelas together with the (usually corrupt) cops. Tropa de Elite, is a documentary style, movie about the elite cops - BOPE - who try to make sense of it all.

Blood runs through the movie - but it is not only violence - the movie is an unflinching look at the whole ecosystem: cops are sometimes corrupt becuase they cannot survive on their measely salaries; because taking bullets is not worth it. And gangs and drugs do not exist in isolation: the gang lords are effectively funded by the rich/middle classes who consume the drugs and at the same time hate the favelas and the police. It is a vicious circle.

The style and cinemtorgraphy is amazing - and a thumping sound track keeps up the pace. It is an amazing movie - even if life is cheap and blood flows down the hillside.

(Nearly) Free Education?

Time has an interesting story about tertiary education in the United States - currently one of the most expensive places to have tertiary education. Basically, a number of universities are replacing student loans with grants, using the household income as the basis to determine eligibility.

This is certainly a noble pursuit - after all, if knowledge is meant to be free; surely financial ability should not impact the dissemination of knowledge. And I do not understand the author's argument, that this ultimately has a ripple effect on other universities who cannot match the generosity of the institutions with large endowments (such as Harvard). Because - does that matter?

Surely, a prospective student will only really look at two factors - the quality of the education offered by the institution and the can the student afford it. In that light, will a student who can get into Harvard (and now afford it) really look at alternatives? Yes, it does raise the prospect that the "good" students will only be going to a select number of universities - but is there any different to the present scenario?

Altech vs ICASA and 28 Others: The Ruling

So the judge has ruled on the case, and I was wrong in the major issue. The judge ruled this morning (I was unable to attend in person sadly), and broadly; VANS have been able to self provide since Feb 2005, and thus all VANS licensees should be awarded Individual ECNS licenses, which will allow them to roll out infrastructure.

There are two broad impacts of this decision. Firstly, this will mean that there will be a lot more suppliers in the market than simply Telkom, Neotel, WBS (iBurst) and the 3 cellular operators - but over 600 new operators. This should increase competition, and ultimately bring better service and hopefully better pricing.

Secondly, and rather drastically - the managed liberalisation of the telecommunication market in South Africa is no more. And this can be very dangerous. The whole rationale behind the managed liberalisation is simple: give a second (and later the third, and fourth etc) enough space and time to build up infrastructure and service offerings such that they can compete effective and efficiently against the incumbents. An unmanaged liberalisation could result in too many ambitious projects that may not actually allow real competition with the incumbent (in the case Telkom) and thus ultimately fail in the end goal.

The fact of the matter is; it takes a lot of money to invest in telecommunication infrastructure. A router that is meant for the home costs R1000; the router that is meant for a medium sized business costs about R10 000; the router that is used in large company sites costs about R300 000 and the routers that are used by carriers cost upward of 1.5 million Rands. There are simply not enough companies out there, that can commit to investing in what is required to build a good telecommunications network.

I will be presenting a paper at WCITD 2008in October (not peer reviewed though) where I discuss the economics of WiMax as applicable in South Africa. I will go into more detail then (maybe), but basically, I do not see WiMax as the saviour for cheap Internet access - the numbers just don't seem to work out. Likewise, having 600 new operators will not really help - it will just make a lot of wireless Internet service providers legal.

Movie: Lust, Caution

Directed by Ang Lee, this is a well told, brilliantly filmed story set during the Japanese occupation of China in WW2. A group of students decide to take down the "traitor" puppet government; in particular the chief of security, Mr Yee. To achieve this aim; a young woman (Wong Chia Chi) decides (or rather led to this decision) to trap Mr Yee and become his mistress; and thus ultimately lead him to his death.

In reality, it is very similar to most spy stories of this type - IIRC Head in the Clouds starring Charlize Theron and Penelope Cruz was similar. But, what is special in this movie, is the story is largely narrated from the view of Wong Chia Chi - and thus recounts her sacrifices in a lot more detail. It is not just a tale of lust, or love.

Movie: The Bank Job

The movie is supposedly based on a real story - a bunch of amateur (but not too bad) criminals get an opportunity to rob the safe deposit boxes of one of main banks in London (Baker Street Robbery). But they walk off with more than just cash and jewels - but also of incriminating pictures of ministers going to brothels (the one minister looks just like Max Mosley and also enjoys BDSM), incriminating pictures of royalty as well as incriminating documents of police bribery and corruption.

The movie is very similar in style with recent british gangster movies such as the ones made by guy Richie and Layer Cake - and is a very enjoyable story. It is less of an action movie, and while it does not feature the glitz of some recent bank heist movies such as Inside Man, it is still interesting and fun.

Movie: Goya's Ghosts

Francisco Goya is a famous painter, who lived in the late 1700s, and apart from painting portraits of famous people and murals on churches (as other famous artists did) - he was also well known for his portrayal of dark fantasy - of demons, hell and disturbing scenes of war and life of the times.

The opening scene of the movie, where the leaders of the Spannish Inquisition are examining his prints, one of the leading characters makes a comment that Goya is merely potraying the world as it is out there, and it is the Church's duty to cure the world, and not punish Goya for potraying the truth.

I thought, that would have set the tone of the story - given an examination/plausible theories of the stories behind the paintings. However, the movie instead meanders through the life of a rich devout merchant, his devout daughter, the corrupt church and priests and the general unfairness of life.

While maybe the general unfairness is Goya's ghosts, but I think the movie could have been much better - and had more sturcture. And, I wish it did not take so much artistic license in historical accounts and settings.

Problem Solving, or the lack thereof

A few weeks ago, a colleague commented that modern day tech support do not really know how to problem solve - they have just one solution; rebuild the machine. He had been having some problems with his laptop, and that is the solution tech support came up with. I share his frustration after this week ...

I have had intermittent problems with my cellphone since last weekend, and it died on Tuesday afternoon. I was in Cape Town, and had left my charger back in Johannesburg - so I did not think too much of it. When I recharged the phone on Wednesday night, it seemed to work fine; but on Thursday morning, the phone packed up (and started dropping signal an hour or so before that). Nashua Mobile, my service provider - had a solution as soon as I walked in - the cellphone equivalent of rebuilding machines - reinstall the phone software.

After 45 minutes, the phone seemed to work again - only for it to pack up again around 4pm. So, I did my own quick investigation (something I should have done on Wednesday night I suppose); and deduced that I had a faulty sim card. When I went back to Nashua Mobile today (Friday), and explained that reinstalling the software did not help, the guy suggested a new sim card - did not even test out the real problem!

Anyway, the new sim card seems to work fine, and I haven't had any dropped signals or frozen cellphone operating systems. But surely, a check list of remediation is the least efficient way to fix problems - finding the cause of the problem should come first!

High Court Action: Altech vs ICASA and 28 Others

I spent quite a substantial part of this past week at the Pretoria High Court, monitoring the case Altech vs ICASA and 28 others. As my company is one of 28 others (although not actively participating), and the results of the court case could have significant impact on our business in the next 3 - 5 years, I was there to monitor the proceedings. Interestingly, most of the non-participants (will clarify just now) from the industry was not there at the hearings - which I found very surprising.

The high court is a remarkably formal setting - every one stood up as the judge entered and left the court room; people leaving the court room bowed before the exited, and similarly bowed before they entered. Even when responses to opposition argument were polite and quite reserved - even if saying that the opposition lawyer's argument was stupid and wrong :) Given the fast track nature of the case (and even then, it took about 3 months to be heard), the judge was very well prepared, and very engaging. It is certainly very different to the TV law series - where the judges are usually passive controllers. Instead, the judge was very engaging - asking questions, clarifying arguments made etc. which made it very easy to follow the arguments (from a listener's perspective).

The case made by Altech is quite simple, but has very wide ranging implications for the South African Market. The core case is about the right of Value Added Network Service (VANS) Licensees to self-provide network infrastructure. ICASA (the regulator) and the Minister of Communications say no, and Altech say yes. But before I elaborate, some background.

Under the old telecommunications act of 1996, there were effectively 4 major types of licenses - public service licenses (for Telkom and Sentech effectively), private service licenses (for specific institutions such as Eskom), cellular operator licenses (for MTN and Vodacom) and VANS licenses which allowed service providers to provide value added services over a communication network. VANS licensees encompassed all ISPs and other corporate network service providers such as my company, which run managed networks for corporate clients. A couple of years ago, the Electronic Communications Act came into operation, which had a different licensing structure: Electronic Communication Network License (ECNS) which allows the license holder to build network infrastructure, Electronic Communication Service License (ECS) which allows the license holder to provide a service over a communication network and Radio Frequency (RF) licenses that allow a license holder to get access to specific radio spectrum.

Sine the old act is going to lapse next year, all existing licenses are being converted to the new license regime; and during this conversion the license holders cannot get lesser rights than they already have. ICASA instituted a conversion process last year for VANS licensees and basically decided to convert a selected number of VANS licensees to ECNS license holders through a competitive process. About 26 VANS licensees took part in the competitive process, including Altech. However, soon after the hearings and submissions of documents to ICASA was complete, Altech brought an urgent court case to stop the process, and joined all the participants in their case. Altech basically argued basically two points:

1. All VANS licensees already have the right to self provide infrastructure, and thus should get ECNS licenses.


2. The process undertaken by ICASA is illegal and should be stopped

Off course if the first argument succeeds, then the second does not matter much. But ICASA and the Minister's arguments in respect of the first point, in my opinion was a lot stronger than Altech. They argued that Altech basically misinterpreted the old laws and ministerial directives. Furthermore, the government is interested in a phased liberalisation program for telecommunication - and the big bang approach that Altech's case would produce (over 600 potential telecommunication service providers instead of about 10) was never envisaged so soon.

But worryingly for all the participants of ICASA's process, Altech's second argument was basically uncontested. If the Judge agrees, and grants the order requested by Altech - the next step of the phased liberalisation process which envisages the introduction of a few more network operators (indications initially was that about 6 new licenses would have been granted) will have to be restarted. This would set back the process by at least 18 months, and that is bad news for telecommunication in South Africa.

Movie: The Dark Knight

Unlike most superheroes - Batman, under his disguise, is still a man - a wealthy man, but still human. He relies on his physical ability for his actions, and his money for his gadgets. Except maybe The Phantom, no superhero, is at his core just another human.

I went to watch it on IMAX - an experience in itself; especially the scenes with city scapes. It took some effort however - I went last night also, but the cancelled the late night showing, but neglected to tell anyone ...

I thought Batman Begins was the best superhero movie - this is far superior. And it is not only because of Heath Ledger. First and foremost, the story was good - well paced, and cruel; just as the concept of the Joker was meant to be. Without spoiling the storyline - when was the last time a major character in a superhero movie was killed by the villain? How about, when was the last time more than 2 major characters were killed directly or indrectly by the villain?

But the masterpiece in the movie is the Joker. The Joker proves the superhero movies do not need meglomaniacs or super-powered villains - all it needs is a psychopath. Heath Ledger's Joker is in the same realm as Hanibal Lecter - a psycopath killer who is in it for the game; and not the result. And Heath Ledger is awesome - utterly believable; so completely engrossing, that you cannot really picture him as anything else. And that is the hallmark of great acting IMO.

In all probability there will be another Batman movie - but what villain could possibly rival the Joker? And yes, IMO Heath Ledger should get the Oscar.

One more paper

A couple of months ago, I submitted a paper to the ACM DRM workshop on the work I did while I was doing my internship at Fraunhofer. And it got accepted ... quite nice actually as it was a very complex paper on privacy and DRM. Also, my first paper that does not feature Andrew (my PhD supervisor) as an author.

Very impressed with myself :)

Movie: Wall-E

At its core, it is a love story - between robots. Except, it is expressed more clearly than many science fiction writers have ever managed in their entire working life. This has been a common theme in many movies/stories - Asimov's Bi-centennial Man is a quick example - where robots finally get to the AI stage - where they become self aware, and usually one of the attributes given to self aware machines, is the capability to love.

But Wall-E is more than just a love story - it is also a story about pollution. Wall-E is a robot that is cleaning up the mess that earth has become. It is a story, ironically given the Disney backing, about commercialism - where humans are consumed totally by consumerism and not caring about their surroundings. It is about laziness - robots do almost everything, to the extent that humans have all become obese slobs.

Wall-E works as a movie, because it is primarily a great story. It also works because it is not a typical cartoon where all the inanimate objects talk - but the story is told, almost in mime. It is a throwback to the silent era where the acting was key. And it works beautifully.

Mabula Private Game Lodge

We are coming close to the final portion of our current project at work - so the team management decided that people needed to get away from the work environment (of a million distractions) and uprooted about 40 people to a private game lodge about 200 Km away from Midrand.

Even though I have spent most of my life in Africa, I have never stayed overnight in a game lodge (or similar). It was not really what I was expecting - I have stayed overnight in a jungle in Peru - and this experience was a lot quieter. And although, we saw birds and a warthog in the lodge area itself, it was rather devoid of animals.

The reserve is quite big (20 000 hectares) and we did go on a game drive in the evening of the second day. Unfortunately no lions or leopards were spotted, but we did see 2 of the big 5 (buffaloes and rhinos) as well as other animals such as giraffes, zebras and numerous types of antelopes.

Beautiful Cape Town

On my previous visits to Cape Town this year, it had been raining. For the first time, last Sunday, it was a clear day - and it was a glorious winter day at that! I was in Cape Town for an early morning meeting on Monday, so decided to enjoy Cape Town and see a few friends etc.

My only aim was to go down to Hout Bay before meeting up with a few friends at Kennedy's in Long Street. On the way to Hout Bay, I decided to stop at Constantia Nek and take a short hike. I have really become unfit - even this short hike was a struggle - but the view of the snow capped mountains was well worth it.

Grilled Snoek and Chips at the Hout Bay harbour - more or less they only thing I eat here, but damn tasty, and damn good. Prices have shot up though - no more 20 bucks for fish and chips.

And there seems to be a new sport in town - paddling on a surf board ...

Oh, and it seems that car guards are venturing into other business these days. One of them offered me some weed (good stuff from Swaziland apparently) and another offered me cocaine too. No wonder Cape Town has a reputation ...

Movie: Wanted

There is only one real reason to watch this movie - the action sequences are one of the best ever. Apart from that, the story writing and dialogue was poor, the acting was ordinary and in general, the movie was rather stupid. But the action sequences - wow. That is the only reason to watch this movie - in fact, it could have been better without any dialogue whatsoever.

Movie: Hancock

Superheroes usually fall into two categories:
a) Nice guys, who get poers by some means, and then go out to save the neighbourhood, if not the world. And the plot often includes a number of different temptations and situations where the superhero is tempted by the dark side. Or,
b) Guys with evil intentions who get superpowers, who battle the nice guys.

Hancock is different - it is a superhero, who is neither a good guy or a guy with evil intentions - just a guy with a bad attitude (or as the kid in the opening scene calls him, an arsehole). And while the story plot is predictable in trying to change Hancock into a nice guy, the plot twist in the middle of the movie is impressive; and in some ways the movie does pose the essential question - shouldn't gifted people be allowed to pursue normalcy? The acting by Will Smith, Charlize Theron and Jason Bateman is nothing special; but the movie is more than anything, about entertainment. And for once, the superheroes do not fight evil bad guys as part of the central theme. That alone, makes this special.

Movie: Kung Fu Panda

Big budget animation movies are often written off as movies for kids. What I really appreciate about them is their ability to tell simple stories, well. They prove that it is possible to tell a story without resorting to blood, guns and sex. They are, above all else, fun.

Kung Fu Panda, is a story of a fat, lazy panda selected to be the special one, to fight the evil, brilliant ex-student. It is in essense a story about self belief - not about transforming a fat, lazy panda to a slim, active one - but rather teaching him the skills and the providing the self belief such that he can use his own (albeit limited) powers for his own advantage. The CGI is superbg, as is the voice acting and script - and is definitely a well told, funny story.

Perez CD Launch

The last time I saw Perez live was almost 5 years ago, on one of their last gigs, on their farewell tour, in Cape Town. They were a band that burst on the scene, almost out of nowhere, and very quickly became one of the best bands in South Africa; and all too suddenly, they split. Since the beginning of this year, they have reformed (still original line-up) and are touring once again - and last night; they launched their new album.

Their music has certainly changed - previously, they were very much a rock band; not a heavy rock and roll band. They have a slightly different sound now - more old school rock and roll, and a lot more interesting. Their music has certainly evolved - for the better. And they have kept two of the traits that really impressed me the first time around - great song writing and being good musicians.

Their ad on Powerzone stated:

It is their "Sgt Peppers", devoid of any pigeonholing and genre, an album not trying to be anything other than a truly great work of art.

Whether it becomes as great as "Sgt Peppers" (in terms of critical acclaim and sales) we will have to wait and see - but it is certainly an incredible album; with a great mix of songs. Their performance was brilliant, and they even squeezed in a few of their old greats. For R100 entry fee, you got the copy of the CD and a 90 minute set. Definitely great value for money too!

Movie: Son of Man

In "A Prayer for Owen Meany" Irving recounts the story of Owen Meany, a boy whose "father" claims is born of a virgin mother - and basically concludes that we would reject the family as lunatics. Son of Man takes a slightly different line - it tells the story of Jesus, if it were to take place in modern Africa - in the country of Judea, ruled by the dictator Herod, and later conquered by an occupying force (who claim to want to enforce democratic rule), and off course the local anti-herod forces, who later cosy up to the occupying forces. In this world, Jesus is born, grows up, and later leads a non-violent passive resistance movement against the occupying forces.

If it were not for the fact that Jesus performs a fwe miracles (healing a sick child, raising a man from the dead and an excorcism) - the story would have been a political drama - and in my opinion, far better. In fact, on the whole, the story is about African strife and the need to stop it - because it is fueled by selfish greed at the top of the chain who whip up their supporters to do their bidding.

Filmed quite a bit in the Cape Town townships, it is amazingly stylish and brilliantly told and filmed - with song and dance. It is the best South African movie I have seen since Tsotsi, and is definitely worth watching. A great pity, that there were only two people (including myself) watching it ...

Movie: The Incredible Hulk

Most superhero movies feature a social outcast (usually a brilliant nerd/geek type person) who gets incredible superhuman powers and then step out to save the world, especially their love interest. The Hulk is somewhat different - yes, a scientist ends up getting superhuman powers, but
a) does not actually want the power
b) does not really save good guys from the bad guys
c) loses his intellectual capacity to the point that he can't actually speak

Off course every movie has a bad guy, but it is not really clear who we should treat as the bad guy - the career focussed general who wants his "property" back or the eventual bad guy - the soldier who wants to get the power so that he can be an even better soldier. The fact is, the bad guy is not really the focus of the movie - but rather the pain of being a superhero, and trying to accept the cards that have been dealt. It is a much darker movie, and although many cliches remain (the lover that can't really be with the hero, the big fight scene) it is different.

This movie is certainly not the best superhero movie made (that honour still rests with Batman Begins); but it is a good superhero movie - particularly because it is different. So different that there is no scene after the credits. :(

Seether Home Coming Tour

It has been a long time since I have watched Seether live - more than 2 years in fact (first Coke Fest). So I was eager to see them live in their current home coming tour - but seems not eager enough to get a standing (i.e. golden circle ticket). This was the first time I have been to a rock concert sitting down - and while the view was damn good (and definitely less tiring), it was certainly not as exciting. That said, the venue (Standard Bank Arena) was quite well organised, and the event flowed very smoothly.

Support Act: My Epic

It was a horrible act - simply because the mixing at the sound deck was so horrible. You could not hear the singer, so it is very difficult to judge their music. On the show front, they had a very energetic bass guitarist; but there was nothing special.

Support Act: 12th Avenue

12th Avenue proved that the sound guys knew how to mix - and of the three support acts, they were certainly my favourite. I have seen them before, and they have certainly improved since then. The music was good (although not exactly in the same genre as Seether), and they had a great show. The singer is also very good - maybe another Parlatones/Prime Circle in the making?

Support Act: Stealing Love Jones

I saw this band at last year's coke fest, and I commented that I would love to see a full gig from them. Well it has been a year, and although they have some cool songs, they did not seem too special. In fact, apart from being fronted by a woman, they did not strike me as anything different. Their music was good though, but again not really of the same genre as Seether. In fact, it was too poppy ...

Seether

Seether proved once again why they are an international band - they were a class above the rest of the support acts. When I saw them last, I commented that Seether did not seem to have much in the way of a "show" - it was very laid back, stand up and sing delivery. No longer! The band is a lot more energetic, a lot more interaction with the crowd - all in all, a much better show.

They played the whole spectrum - songs from the Saron Gas days (such as 69 Tea, Gasoline), Karma and Effect and the latest album. If I had a criticism, it is that they did not play too many songs from the new album - but it was a 90 minute set, so not much to complain really.

Also very commendable was how the line-up was arranged - how the old songs and the new songs were mixed together. It was a truly rocking show.

Hiking in the Magaliesberg

I have driven past the Magaliesberg a number of times now (on my way to Gabarone) - and it has not struck me as a particularly beautiful place - after all, it is mostly yellow. On Sunday, I hiked up the mountain with some "locals" and I must confess - I was completey wrong. The Magaliesberg, one of the oldest mountains in the world, is also quite beautiful.

Off course it also has to do with where you go hiking in the Magaliesberg - it is a sizable mountain range; and the location (near Rustenberg) had a surprising amount of greenery and water - and the small water falls and rock pools were beautiful! We did not go to the highest point on Sunday, and apart from the path to the river bed, we did not follow any hiking trails (there were none) - so there is a lot of scope for exploring and hiking. I think I will return many times ...

Chris Rock

Went to see Chris Rock's final show in South Africa at Carnival City on Sunday night. As expected, it was absolutely brilliant - and Chris Rock certainly does not hold back. There was certainly no "safe" subjects - gays, fat people, George Bush, Hillary, petrol prices, xenophobia, Iraq, terrorism, sex - and off course race. Definitely one of the best comedy shows I have been to.

Gold Reef City

So the trip to Gold Reef City ended up being postponed by only one day. Gold Reef City, is the only tourist attraction I knew off in Johannesburg, before I actually came here; mainly because of the "go down the mineshaft" tour option. I did not really know that it was also a theme park until very recently.



It is actually a very interesting theme park, and I think, over all, better than Ratanga Junction in Cape Town. The main roller coaster - Anaconda - is quite scary, and very impressive. But all of the roller coaster rides are interesting - especially the Golden Loop - which is the first roller coaster I have ridden that goes backwards. But I did not go to the really scary ride - the Tower of Terror, which features a vertical drop of about 40 metres. The queue was long, and I really did not feel like it, when I got there towards the end of the day.




As for the underground, mine shaft tour - it was certainly very interesting. The tour takes place in a real gold mine shaft, about 250 metres below ground, featuring the technology and techniques of gold mining. The shaft features many original implements and technologies, including a 100 year old AC-DC converter in the underground electric substation.


At R110, it is a bit on the expensive side; but there is a lot of other attractions including touristy attractions such as traditional dancing, live bands, restaurants (though quite overpriced) theatres etc. And, it is a load of fun.

Apartheid Museum

Museums usually tell stories - about the past, be it in terms of culture, an event, nature etc. Very rarely, is a museum in itself an experience - where it is constructed to specifically give you a feel and sense of being part of something. The Apartheid Museum, next to Gold Reef City, is possibly the best museum that I have ever visited - not only because of its depth and breadth in the coverage of its subject matter, but as an experience itself.

As its name suggests, the museum explores the Apartheid period of South Africa's history. But it is not just a straight tale of what, who, where and when. Instead, it tries to take the visitor on a complete journey - not only on the many different facets of discrimination (including a small exhibtion on the gay and lesbian rights, conflicts between the Bantu nations and the San); but also tries to give an experience on how it must have felt to discriminated.


It is a museum of great symbolism, and much thought has gone to every display. From the passage of mirrors symbolising the migration of people to Johannesburg to the maze exploring the various legal underpinnings of apartheid.


I spent over 3 hours in the museum - so much so, that the planned trip to Gold Reef City had to be postponed for another day. And I did not even cover every panel, see every video, examine every picture. It is the best 30 rands I have spent in a long, long time.

Central Pretoria

I first visited central Pretoria about three weeks ago, when I had to go to the Pretoria High Court for a work related issue (can't really talk too much about the specifics). I thought it was beautiful, and I went back to explore it in a bit more detail.


The first thing that struck me was how much many more people seem to enjoy Pretoria - there were children playing, people having picnics etc. And the old buildings are beautiful, and you can even go inside the Ou Radsaal, which used to be the old parliament of the South African Republic (ZAR) before the Anglo-Boer war, and now is the city council offices - very lavish offices at that.

Voortrekker Monument and Skanskop Fort

It is probably one of the most well known monument in South Africa, yet it seems to be almost exclusively visited by Afrikaners and tourists. I think that is a shame for many reasons - a) the Voortrekker monument is a monument and museum that pays homage to the pioneers of one of South Africa's major "races". Understanding the history and culture of South Africa's diversity is key to understanding and respecting other cultures and peoples. and b) it is a fascinating monument and museum.


Granted, some of the panels in the monument could be construed as bias - but history has happened, and cannot be undone.


Skanskop Fort, which is also part of the general reserve, is a Anglo-Boer war era fort built to protect Pretoria. The fort in itself is rather unimpressive - but the documentation and displays about the war is worth the trip. Especially, the concentration camp display - Hitler was not the first, although the scale of the Nazi regime's brutality will hopefully never be repeated.

There are also some awesome views of Pretoria from the top of the monument and for that matter the fort.

Movie: Confessions of a Gambler

As a story, it is brilliant, and one of the best South African (or indeed African) stories I have seen/read where apartheid or colonialism does not play a role. It is very much a story about modern life vs tradition: a muslim woman, who struggles against a gambling addiction (gambling is a sin in Islam). On top of that, she has a gay son dying of AIDS and is in love with her brother in law. It makes for some great tension, and is also an amazing exploration of the Cape Malay culture.

However, technically the film is very amateurish - it almost seems as if the movie was filmed with low end consumer video cameras. There are also some problems with lighting and just general cinematography. Cape Town should have made one of the best cinematographic backdrops for a movie, but it is not well portrayed in the movie. It probably boils down to funding, but I think a more established director could have probably done a much better job.

Museum Africa

I love going to museums, and have been to many museums, in many different cities. Most museums have the same approach to presenting to the public, and it is usually the content that draws the public - like the Space Shuttle or Concorde (or many other original aeroplanes) at the Air and Space Museums in Washington DC, or the Pergamon Museum in Berlin.

Museum Africa, in Newtown, has one of the most interesting ideas, that is certainly unique amongst the museums I have visited. One of the main displays, is about the Treason Trial - a fore runner to the Rivonia Trial (see here for more details), where over 150 people, including well known figures such as Nelson Mandela, Albert Luthuli and Walter Sisulu, were charged with treason; and no one was convicted.

In the first part, (as far as I know), every defendant has a portrait (either photograph or drawn) and a small plaque giving some brief biographic details. But, here is the really interesting part - under each portrait, is a little red book, and the public is invited to write down comments and facts about that person. For some well known figures, there is actually no real information - just a lot of praise from the public - a sort of public, buut anonymous, thanks giving. But it is for some really lesser known figures, that commentary shines through. Even minute details, such as the name of the family dog, or how the person lived in their daily life. Some of the accounts are truly mesmerising. There are other parts to the display also - a discussion of what is meant by treason, a collage of press reports, photography from journalists, profiles on the lawyers and judges involved; etc. But it is the first part that truly shines.

The other parts of the museum are also interesting - there is a display of Gandhi's time in Johannesburg; a small display of South Africa's human past (Taung child etc) - a display I think should be really expanded; a display on the history of some of Gauteng's townships, a display of music in South Africa (no actual music played unfortunately) and then an amazing collection and display of photography and history of photography.

Museum Africa is a definite visit, if you have time in Gauteng - and since it is free entry, I don't see why there should be a reason not to.

Newtown and Downtown Johannesburg

So, I finally got to exploring downtown Johannesburg for a while on Saturday. I parked at a parkade on Rissik Street, and then walked to Newtown and back. as I have noted before, Jo'burg is quite a lively place, and although the traffic levels were low, there were still a lot of people around.

There are some really beautiful old colonial style buildings around - but, as can be expected from a city that is barely 100 odd years old, there aren't too many of them around. While, some buildings like the City Hall are restored and still functioning, one of the buildings on the corner is as good as demolished, while the Old Post Office is being restored.

Perhaps, the most interesting part of the Jo'burg trip, was the small, but vocal, demonstration against the recent xenophobic attacks. I am however a bit confused by the demonstration itself. I picked up one of the flyers which criticise the government for doing nothing (and in some ways, of flaming the attacks); while the songs being sung by the guys on the truck praised the ANC and the freedom movement. In the morning, the demonstration was being held outside the Beyers Naude square, outside the library (another grand old building - should go inside sometime) and later on in the afternoon, it moved to outside the Home Affairs offices. The crowd numbers didn't seem to have grown in the meantime though.

Newtown, one of the oldest parts of Jo'burg, has been recently redeveloped as a cultural area. There are a number of theatres, and cultural activities - and is quite a beautiful area with parks and statues (such as one of Brenda Fassie outside Bassline) littering area. For example, streets in the Newtown area have funky decorations like the one below.

One thing that did strike me as odd, was that there weren't as many people as I thought there should be. And perhaps, it is to do with the fact that it is not really a family area - after all, while there are museums, it is not really a place where kids can hang out - it is almost too much focus on the adults (theatres, clubs). That said, Newtown is fascinating, and I think more people should visit it.

Movie: 21

21 is based on a fairly famous story of card-counting teams based at MIT, who went to Las Vegas on weekends and play blackjack. While it is based on a true story, the fiction just goes overboard. While it is entertaining, it is hardly brilliant.

Movie: City of Men (Cidade dos Homens)

City of God (Cidade de Deus) was an amazing movie, and any follow up would have a lot to live up to. City of Men, does not really live up to those lofty heights (although it is not really a sequel) - but then, the movie is very different. City of Men is slower paced, and concentrates more on the struggles of two young men (who turn 18 over the course of the movie) and their struggle to make something, out of nothing.

Still set in the favelas (shanty towns) of Rio de Janeiro (although parts of it seems to be filmed in Santa Teresa, where as far as I know, there are no favelas); it is a story about the friendship of two young men, who are caught up in a gang war. There is also a touch of Romeo and Juliet (one of the guys, who happens to be the cousin of one of the gang leaders, is in love with the sister of the opposing gang leader), a commentary on the difficulty of leaving the known environment, regardless of the dangers.

Rio naturally lends itself for beautiful cinematography, and while the movie is good, it is not in the same league as City of God.

F1 Future Directions

After the demise of Super Aguri, Mark Gallagher has written an interesting article on Pitpass.com. This is my take on what needs to be done (and an email I sent to the author).

Fundamentally, I think F1 has lost its "purpose". When I first started to follow F1 back in the 90's (I am only in my 20s), F1 was branded as the toughest and most technologically advanced motorsport series. It was where drivers raced cutting edge motor cars. Sure, technology in F1 cars do not always get to the road car; but it was more than bragging rights for the R&D teams. The cars were tough because they were the most advanced (because they were the fastest, hardest etc).

But due to F1's cost cutting moves, a lot of technology has been "standardised". Sure, there is a lot less electronic gizmos, but it has also meant that there is nothing really that distinguishes one team from another. We are steadily moving to a one make series; and in that case, why not jump ship to A1 GP racing Ferrari F2004s?

In my opinion, there are a number of factors where this situation can be salvaged:
1. KERS is ok, but it is not really what we need
Yes, engine development was one of the major costs in F1 teams. But unlike chassis, there are a lot less engine developers. I think the longevity of engines (2 races, 4 races etc) should be maintained, but freezing engine development for 10 years make no sense. Rather, than focus environmental issues through KERS, why not force development of more efficient engines. And it is far easier to mandate and police.
For example, if FIA mandated that a team could use a maximum of 10 000 litres of fuel (or equivalent energy capacity) per year, and then steadily decrease the maximum; it will force more efficient engines, and thus ultimately cheaper running costs. On top of that, the car buying public will see the effects on the streets. You know - Toyota
brings you the car that can run the equivalent of 18 GPs on one tank of fuel - that is what the car makers want after all.

2. Bring back the tyre war
The car package includes the bit of rubber that keep the car on the road. There is no point on appointing one (or even two) tyre manufacturers. Rather let any interested tyre manufacturer compete openly - and to keep costs down; mandate a maximum number of tyres that can be used over an entire season.

3. Allow chassis sales
If car companies can sell engines, why can design studios not sell chasis? After all, they might also want to sell their expertise to other motorsport series, car manufacturers etc. Chassis sales = lower costs = more teams. And more teams usually equal better show, esp if there is actual competition in qualifying (other than a good grid spot).

4. Better revenue sharing
Instead of sharing revenue between teams according to team's performance on the track, why not modularise? As discussed in the last three points, there are three major components of a car - engines, chassis and tyres. And there are teams that assemble the components and race them. Why not divide the TV revenues into four parts - engine manufacturers, chassis designers, tyre manufacturers and teams. Like teams earn points for finishing in a certain position, points should be earned for engine manufacturers, chassis designers and tyre manufacturers. This means if a team makes their own chassis (9 of them currently), they would make more money than the one or two that didn't. Similarly, engine manufacturers who supply more teams have an incentive to develop and supply engines fairly. Similarly, tyre manufacturers have something more than just bragging rights, and have a reason to focus on all their teams.

Ultimately F1 will still need a better show - but the show is not everything. F1 needs to mean something to the general public - slogans are not just marketing exercises - they define what the product is.

WTF Mother's Day Ads

So it is Mother's Day on Sunday, and like every other "event", especially in an economic downturn, are trying whatever they can to make sure you buy presents (or whatever) in their store.

On the radio yesterday, I heard an ad from "Temptations", a lingerie store, asking you to buy your mother "something special". Sorry, but buying lingerie for your mom?

And over in Sandton City, there is a big stand in the foyer, from a beauty clinic asking you to buy your mum a consultation - so that she can get a wax. The poster, featuring a stylised naked woman, talks about bikini waxes, intimate waxes and some other stuff ...

Movie: Deathproof

This movie came out last year, while I was in Germany; and I only got round to seeing it this past weekend. It is a Quentin Tarantino movie, filmed in old 70's and 80's style, featuring old American muscle cars, set in the backwater towns of America, in the modern day - about a psyco stuntman who has a thing for killing beautiful women in car crashes.

The psycho, Stuntman Mike, played by Kurt Russel, is not really developed as a character - but instead each of the women characters are developed in great detail. While, there does not seem to be much of a story - it is a brilliant movie about some really impressive stuntwork (apparently no CGI was involved).

Movie: Shoot 'Em Up

The movie really features three main actors: a mysterious lone ranger (Smith, played by Clive Owen), a lactating prostitute (Donna played my Monica Belluci) and the baddie (Hertz, played by Paul Giamatti). There is also a heavy metal loving new born baby, who is the main attraction for the story.

This movie, while having a storyline, is all about body count - the number of people that get killed, and the manner in which (Smith for the vast majority) they get killed. In fact, trying to keep a count of the number of people killed is the challenge in itself. It is an art movie about people getting killed - thoroughly entertaining and very impressive.

Movie: Iron Man

I had not heard of the comic book - so I was not expecting much - this is a movie, I wanted to watch simply because the trailer promised a lot of action, and the hero was Robert Downey Jr - more unlikely than Tobey Maguire as Spiderman.

But it works brilliantly - and the movie, while still a cliche of superhero scripts, is well produced, and features some really impressive stunts and action sequences. And above all, the baddies are easily identifiable, and not not powered by mutants or aliens. And I think that is what is really interesting about this hero - it raises the idea, however briefly (because the physics are frankly next to impossible), that given enough money, it can be possible to be your own superhero. In short, Iron Man is the advanced version of Batman. :p

Movie: U23D

3D movies are awkward for me - especially because they require me to wear 3D glasses (over my existing glasses). And, for the most part, I think they are just gimmicks. In fact, the trailer for a 3D movie, ripping off a Jules Verne novel starring Brendan Fraser (Journey to the Centre of the World) seems absolutely rubbish. But, this is not a movie - it is a music concert; featuring one of my favourite bands, U2.

And it is awesome - combined with the cinema sound, you actually feel like you are at the concert - be it in the crowd (when the shots are from crowd level), to standing beside Bono or the Edge or as a fly on the stage, observing Larry's incredible drumming. The 3D format works brilliantly, and if you like U2, you must go watch this movie.

Movie: More than Just A Game

It is billed as a drama - but it is really a documentary. Like most South African movies, it deals with the past - specifically - the contribution of games - specifically football (or soccer) to the life of the political prisoners on Robben Island.

It is certainly a well told story - and is a solid contribution to the history of football in South Africa. However, I think the directors and producers should not have tried mixing the dramatic recreation and documentary aspects (recollections from the surviving prisoners) in a single movie - as a concept I find it too jarring and just did not work for me. It would have been better to have it either completely narrated, or completely dramatised.

Movie: Avalon

I have been meaning to watch this movie for almost a year, and I finally got round to it this past weekend. It is a trully eclectic mix: Japanese writers, director and producers; Polish actors, location and language; storyline loosely connected to a a British/Norse myth - and it is quite literally what a "gamers" movie should be about.

The movie revolves around an "illegal" MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) in the near future (a bleak near future of drought and misery) called Avalon. Games have evolved to where VR is quite realistic, and people play in padded VR rooms (on hire, because the equipment is too expensive). Avalon is a WW2 like sim, where individual players and parties (groups of players who have joined up for a common cause) earn experience points, which can be used to amongst other things converted to real currency. But there are also dangers to the game - and a virtual death could translate to real life vegetative state. The movie tracks one of the top solo players of this game (Ash) and her quest for redemption (due to an earlier online incident which led to her going solo) and for a hidden level that literally separates the elite from the rest.

Avalon is billed as the "future of gaming" - and considering it was released in 2001; it is very much a forward thinking movie and concept. Avalon is a beautiful movie - highky stylised. If you have ever player RPGs, then the storyline will be quite engrossing - but it is very much a gamer's movie - full with hidden references. If you like games, you must watch this movie.