San Francisco to Muir Woods (and Stinson Beach)

The two things I learnt about San Francisco long ago was the Golden Gate bridge and the giant redwoods on the other side of the bay (Muir Woods).

Public transport in San Francisco is great, but it doesn't extend far outside the city limits. Getting to Muir Woods with public transport during the "off" season is not easy; the tourist officer at Sausalito claimed that it didn't exist, and my host in SF was also of the opinion that I would need to hire a car. Mountain bike routes exist, but I am no where near the fitness levels required for such a feat.

There is a route, though not very convenient. The Golden Gate Transit busses between San Francisco and Sausalito is the first leg; although one could also take the ferry if desired. Thereafter, Bus 61 takes one from either Marlin City or Sausalito ferry stop on the weekends; up the aptly named Panoramic Highway to a number of hiking points along the park.

The very helpful driver dropped me at the crossing of the Dipsea trail, which was about a mile from the entrance to Muir Woods.

The busses are about every 2 hours, and I was not too confident on making it back in time. So I decided to carry on hiking, all the way down to the pacific ocean at Stinson beach. It was a total distance of about 16 km (as per my hiking app), the trails are well marked and the views are well worth the effort.

Muir Woods is amazing, the large trees dominate, but as you leave the park, there is other vegetation also. Compared to other forests, there is a distinct quietness (discounting the human chatter) - I expected a lot more bird life.

Bus 61 can be caught from Stinson beach, and waiting by the beach is so much better than the side of the road.

The San Francisco Symphony

Celebrating its 100^th birthday this year, the San Francisco Symphony is one of the world's top classical orchestras. I have always wanted to go see a top class symphony playing in a dedicated symphony hall, so this was an ideal moment (incidentally I still haven't managed to go see the Berlin Philharmonic). To sweeten the deal, unsold tickets are discounted on the day of the concert to $20, which made the experience even better ;)

The Miles Davis Symphony Hall is a fantastic venue with brilliant acoustics. It looks stunning from inside and outside, and has a small exhibition on the 100 years of the symphony on the first level.

Last nights program included Hayden's 104th Symphony, Mozart's 39th Symphony and Piano Concerto no 25. The conductor was Rinaldo Alessandrini and the soloist was Olivier Cavé.

Cycling around the bay

The bike (cycles) rental companies proudly claim, that biking around the bay is the best way to see the bay. They are not overselling ...

After spending the last two days walking everywhere, I decided to take a cycle instead. Starting at the end of Fisherman's wharf, going up to the Golden Gate bridge, over the bridge to the town of Sausalito and then taking the ferry back. It is clearly a popular route, not only on the evidence of the number of bikes on the ferry, but the infrastructure in Sausalito to support the cyclists.

There are two climbs, though not very difficult - the first comes too soon when you are starting out and the second is up to the bridge. Thereafter, it's a nice ride down to the ferry. I had thought of going a lot further, but the ferry times, at least in winter, are not conducive.

San Francisco is a great city for cycling. The bike rentals are not cheap (mine came to about $30), but it beats walking.

Noise Pop at the Brick and Mortar

Noise Pop, now in its 20^th year, is an annual musical tradition focussing on Indie Rock, in Sab Francisco, and responsible for unearthing quite a few well known bands. I discovered it last night while looking for potential gigs, also unearthing the fact that Die Antwoord were playing a sold out gig a 3 blocks away from where I am staying! So I resolved to attend at least one gig of the festival, which ends on Sunday.

The first band, a duo really, Carleta Sue Kay, comprising of a singer and a guitarist; was a last minute addition to the line up. The lyrics were brilliant - humorous, witty, interesting (e.g. "my post appocalyptic, super narcissistic love song") and the singer had an impressive vocal range to complement.

The second band, Chapter 24, was a four piece (2 guys, 2 gals) and were quite opposite to the band they were following. The vocalist had a weird reverb effect and seemed to mumble quite a bit, although she did sound good. What it was however. Is really good music and a singer who seemed to be jumping or walking in a trance. It was entertaining to listen to, and amusing to watch.

Bare Wires is a three piece band that'l looks and sound as they are from the 70's. Their guitar play was superb, and overall had foot tapping, some jumping and/or swaying music. Can't really comment on the lyrics as I couldn't make out the words; not sure if the singer was mumbling or I was just very tired.

Dirty Ghosts, the last band lived up to its headline billing. Their lyrics weren't as interesting as the first act, but they had a richer and most interesting sound of the bands of the night. They had an engaging stage presence.

It was quite a packed venue, and the audience demographics was quite varied. Compared to South African bands at the same stage of their performance career, these bands were a lot more polished and professional.

Golden Gate Park

Bigger than New York's Central Park, it's a damn log walk from one end to the other. Unlike Manhattan, San Francisco has a lot of parks, but even then the Golden Gate park was busy, and most people seemed to be locals.

There are a number of additional attractions within the park, though apart from the AIDS memorial, I didn't enter. The park was busy with the usual joggers and cyclists, as well as the homeless and numerous drug dealers (I was offered marijuana at least 5 times, though all before the entrance to the AIDS memorial grove). I also came across a drumming circle, featuring a cross section of the San Francisco populous.

The park ends at the Pacific ocean, and getting back to town was a bit of a challenge (more due to a lack of signage more than anything else, the number 5 bus is fairly close by).

Mission Delores

It is the site of the oldest building in San Francisco, and the third site of the catholic mission. I was fortunate that my arrival coincided with the start of a school tour group, and I got a fascinating history lesson from the curator, Andy. Andy is the direct descendant of one of the earliest Indian (as he insisted not Native American) converts, and gave a fascinating story on the construction and the history of the mission. He focused a lot more on the Indian story, such as the impact of colonialism in diet and the environment, the impact of disease and also the story behind some of the very impressive artwork within the church.

Chinatown

Every Chinatown I have been to, seem to have the same things - cheap t-shirts, massage parlors, gift shops, food places and buildings decorated in an oriental style. The San Francisco Chinatown is certainly bigger, with a number of higher end art shops, but is not remarkably different.

San Francisco Skyline

Top of Telegraph Hill, Coit Tower provides a stunning viewpoint for the San Francisco skyline. The clear skies certainly helps with the views!

Coit Tower

It was granted historical monument status due to its murals, but some of the murals are inaccessible as the stairway is closed. Stunning views from the top makes the $7 entry fee worth it.

The walk down towards Embecardo is steep, but through some stunning gardens.

Latin Grill Express

Near Ghiradelli Square, Latin Grill Express is a small coffee and sandwich store with a Latin flavour. I decided to stop for a quick lunch, enticed by the free wifi, but stayed due to the organic fair trade coffee and "exotic" sandwiches.

It was apparently the school lunch hour, as the shop was flooded by kids stopping by for a quick lunch.

Glorious Day in San Francisco

It has been a great day. So far, just walking around ...

This is a very scenic city.

The long route to San Francisco

When I was looking for flights to SFO from South Africa, I had only one requirement - only deal with American airports once. traveling via Europe was a bonus.

On the surface, the end route was reasonable, JNB - MUC and MUC - SFO. I did discover that the Munich - San Francisco flight stopped in Chicago, but since it was the same flight number, and I had no changes indicated on my ticket, I didn't think I had to get out of the plane.

I was wrong. Despite having the same flight number, not only did you have to deplane, but the Chicago - San Francisco route was on a different plane altogether. I must admit that it was pretty efficient - immigration (without any hassles), followed by a change in terminals, the long laborious security check (for the first time, I had no extra screening ... that was nice) and I had enough time to dart into the lounge for a drink and a visit to the toilet.

I was also very impressed with United. The last time I flew intercontinental with United, I was stuck in the middle seat (in a cluster of 5) in the middle row. This time I was surprised at the amount of legroom on both flights as well as the general facilities (as can be attested by the number of movies i watched) and service. It seems, that on United the old timers get the international flights while the newbies get the domestic as there was a considerable gap in the average age of the flight attendants!

There was also a stark contrast in the airports. Munich is modern, with lots of space and gleaming glass and steel. Both Chicago and San Francisco are old concrete behemoths, crowded and feels a bit creaky and worn down.

Ultimately, it was a long trip, about 10:30 hours to Munich, about 9:30 to Chicago and the last leg was about 4:30 hours. Added to that, there was the transit time and the general airport waiting, and it was about 36 hours in total. So, in hindsight I should have taken the Frankfurt route, even though I am not too big a fan of the city ... lessons for next time.

Movie: Drive

The original version of the game, Driver was, in my opinion one of the best driving games of its time. The opening scene of the movie reminded me of the game; the police chases, the hiding from the cops and even the countdown to the finish line!

Sadly, apart from a few more car chases, the movie is excruciatingly slow and overly artistic. Ryan Gosling plays the driver, part time stuntman, part time getaway driver who gets set up with a dud job while trying to help a friend. The entire movie could have been 45 minutes if all the arty slow motion effects and the long shots of nothing are taken out; and it would be a better movie too.

Movie: Immortals

Badly written, horrible dialog, crappy story ... lots of gore, heroic deaths, saving the world, a few beautiful women - I suppose there are a few redeeming qualities. Sadly, it still feels that I should have watched something else ...

Movie: 50/50

A comedy about cancer, in itself sounds strange. Set around the story of a young man (played brilliantly by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) diagnosed with a rare cancer, detected early enough for him to have a 50% chance of survival.

The movie is not all laughs, but instead of focusing on the tragedy, it focuses on the many absurdities, from insensitive doctors, to eating biscuits with marijuana, to the constant "you will be fine". It is not an inspirational tale of beating the odds (or trying to), but it is still the most upbeat story of cancer (or any other serious illness) that I have seen.

Movie: Ides of March

The George Clooney directed political thriller has been at the theatres for quite a while, but I only got round to seeing it on the plane. It is billed as "an idealistic staffer getting a crash course in dirty politics", but I think it is a lot more.

Centered around a fictional democratic primary for the presidency, it is a study of strategy firstly, and politician's ethics secondly. The beauty of the movie is not the dirty politics, but how the central character played by Ryan Gosling, takes advantage of the situation to further his own end. While he comes across as caring and very much a "good guy", earlier in the movie, in the end we are left with a cold, calculating cynic. The transformation, and the story around the transformation is brilliant.

Groenkloof Nature Reserve

When I moved to Gauteng, I was introduced to Groenkloof for mountain biking. I haven't biked for a long time, but have become a very regular (weekly is my aim) hiker.

Just outside Pretoria, it is one of the oldest reserves in South Africa, and features a number of hiking, bike and 4x4 trails. There is a wide variety of game, and I have often come across at least 3 or 4 species of large animals. The hiking and bike trails allow one to get very close to the animals (and sometimes too close). There is also an incredible transformation just after the rains when the main valley is filled with croaking frogs and a huge variety of bird life.

Abdullah Ibrahim and the New South African Orchestra

A legend in the South African music scene, this was the first time I actually had the opportunity to attend a live performance. Playing with an 18 piece big band/orchestra, the concert featured a lot of his own compositions and some tributes to jazz legends. I say legends due to the reaction of a full house at the Linder Auditorium, since my own knowledge of Jazz is quite limited.

The contrast between jazz performances and classical performances I usually attend at the Linder is quite stark. For starters, applause and audience appreciation is not constrained by etiquette of waiting for the end of the piece. The performers also acknowledged a hearty applause with a short bow, while the rest of the band members carried on! The dress code of the performers is also relaxed - no tuxedos and ties to be seen, although most of the audience was a lot more dressed up!

The performance was mostly very lively and enjoyable. Abdullah Ibrahim was the MC, but he did tend to mumble a bit. The project, if I understood correctly was about making musical performances more accessible. In that sense, I don't think it was a great success. At R220 a ticket, it is far outside the reach of most people. Without a program an more information on the pieces themselves it is not easy to follow for non jazz followers.

It was still a great experience, and though I don't follow jazz a very enjoyable evening.

Presenting the Buskaid Academy

Another addition to the Johannesburg International Mozart Festival this year was the Buskaid Ensemble, playing a concert in the wonderful Villa Arcadia. The mansion was once the home of a mining magnate (in the early 1900's), and then an orphanage (probably the most scenic orphanage around) and now part of Hollard's corporate campus (the story can be found here). The views are absolutely stunning, and the gardens have been well maintained - we even spotted an owl in the gardens!

But the highlight was the Buskaid. Once again, they played a brilliant mix of classical, contemporary and the traditional; and once again their choice of classical music makes them stand out from other classical ensembles. The entire classical set was the music of Le Chevalier de Saint-George - the black Mozart (and a contemporary of Mozart).

The evening started off with a movement from his Symphony No 2, followed by a selection of musical pieces from his ballet, L’amant anonyme. One of the great things about Rosemary Nalden, the Buskaid founder, is her passion to talk about the music instead of just performing it. So, after the ballet piece, we got a short talk on the different styles of performing string music (and how it has changed over the course of time) including the influence of equipment (such as the bows) and also how different the sound is from the different playing styles.

An alumnus, Kabelo Motlhomi (who went on to study music in the UK) was the soloist, in Chevalier de Saint-George's first violin concerto. Chevalier de Saint-George was himself a flamboyant violin player; and Kabelo's performance was brilliant; thoroughly deserving the rousing applause at the end of his performance.

In "celebration" of Valentine's Day, the rest of the concert was lighter, romantic songs with some Buskaid members singing. Before the start of the lighter stuff, Rosemary made the comment that it has been 15 years since the Buskaid formally started as a music school in Soweto. The 15 years has been remarkably successful, in producing great musicians. So, she feels that the Buskaid should no longer be a project - but an academy for string music and performance art. It is the closest thing South Africa has to the El Sistema - and I wish the Buskaid Academy all the best! And I will continue to go to Buskaid concerts whenever I can ... they are truly one of the best musical ensembles in South Africa.

Rude SAA ground staff

I fly a lot, and very often on SAA. Overall, I would say that the staff is polite and service is excellent. My recent redemption of voyager miles was an excellent case in point. Tonight, I am flying again, and have come across rude ground staff twice in 30 minutes! The first was at baggage drop off, where I was brusquely told that I was at the wrong counter and to go somewhere else, despite the counter being labeled "Fast Bag Drop". But it was not so much the message but the delivery of the message.

But the latter scene was inexcusable. While waiting for the plane to commence boarding, there were two ground staff sitting opposite. A gentleman, who was also on the same flight enquirer whether he was in the right place and why the plane wasn't boarding. The response was not, we aren't ready yet or directing him to the right person, but stating that he should look at the board and it will tell him when boarding would commence. The man was clearly bewildered so he approached the ground staff at a rival airline at the next counter who were far more helpful.

SAA was recently awarded the best airline in Africa for service, and has been for a number of years. At this rate maybe it won't stay like that for much longer.

Boring Piano - JPO's 1st 2012 Season 1st Concert

The first JPO concert in the new year started off quite merrily - with two dances (Polonaise and Waltz) from Tchaikovsky's opera Eugene Onegin.

The second work, featuring English pianist Michael Roll as the soloist, was Schumann's Piano Concerto. I am not sure whether it was the performance, or the the piece itself; but it was very boring. Perhaps it is a technical masterpiece, but it was not really enjoyable in my perspective.

In contrast to the concerto, Franck's Symphony in D Minor was very enjoyable. Although composed long before the advent of talking movies; parts of the score, to me, seemed straight out of a soundtrack - especially that of a thriller/adventure. Perhaps its modernity (despite being more than 100 years old) is what made it enjoyable ...

Movie: Punk in Africa

One of the cool things about The Bioscope, is that it screens movies, that would otherwise not get a screening at South African movie theatres. Punk In Africa, is a documentary on punk music - from the late 1970's to 2011 (when it was filmed) - predominately in South Africa, a bit of Mozambique and Zimbabwe and a couple of mentions of the rest of Africa. The definition of punk is fluid; and covers - as far as the bands that are covered - rock, reggae, ska and a bit more. The common thread, be it bands from the way past such as National Wake; to the modern Fuzzigish and Hog Hoggidy Hog; is their focus on societal protest.

With a lot of archived footage; and interviews with the band members; there is a lot of interesting tidbits like, not only were there multi-racial punk bands in the 1980's - they were very popular in the townships. With a lot of focus on pre-1994 bands, there was off course quite a lot on racial segregation and the secret police and their impact on band line-ups and performances. But the real gems in the documentary are the archived video footage of the band performances. They have also now released a compilation of the music from the documentary, which should make interesting listening.

I haven't been to see a live rock band for a long time (outside concerts for big international artists). A number of venues that I knew off in Johannesburg has closed - and I think all of the clubs featured in the movie are now gone. The lack of clubs also implies that there has been a steady decline in the popularity of the music. Is it a matter of demographics, or a lack of money (for the band members) or simply a change in musical taste - I am not sure.

Getting out of Brussels (or Antwerp)...

I am thinking of going to see Rammstein in Antwerp next month (getting a scalper's ticket off course, since its all sold out). While getting to Antwerp required some creative thinking, to be fairly cheap; getting out is proving to be a lot more difficult (I need to be in Helsinki within 2 days of the Rammstein concert). I have tried a number of combinations; but the ticket prices are just astronimical (talking well into 400+ EUR price range) or at ridiculuous times.

At this rate, it just doesn't seem to be worth it ...

Movie: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

For some reason, I have never got round to reading the series by Stieg Larsson; and also didn't get round to seeing the Swedish versions of the movies when it was released in South Africa last year. On the basis of this movie, the series is definitely on my list of books to read.

The direct Swedish translation of the title "Men Who Hate Women", is so much more descriptive of the plot, than the published title. It is a crime story where two unlikely characters try to solve a decades old mystery of a missing, presumed dead, girl from a very wealthy family. And in this roller coaster, we are introduced to even more deaths, which seem to follow a connected pattern.

Brilliantly acted, stunning cinematography and a great plot all contributes towards a great movie. Despite its length, it actually doesn't feel that long - it is the best type of storytelling; one that sucks you in completely.

Improvisations on Nosferatu

The 1922 German silent horror movie, Nosferatu, has an interesting history (as per the Wikipedia article), and is one of the earliest adaptations of Bram Stoker's Dracula. As part of the Johannesburg International Mozart Festival, pianist Paul Hammer and saxophonist McCoy Mrubata, performed a musical score (don't think it was unrehearsed) accompanying the screening.

As a movie, Nosferatu was interesting in it self (though it seems the translated version does use the Dracula names and not the German substitutes). It does not come across as terrifying; and a lot of that is due to the explosion of vampire lore. The music was not terrifying either; and in fact made the movie a lot more comical than what was intended.

The venue was The Bioscope, an independent movie theatre in downtown Jo'burg (near Ellis Park). It's part of a wider artistic community including cafe's and a hotel. There are some interesting movies on their lineup ... thinking of exploring further on what it has to offer.

This is a great idea, and hopefully future editions of the festival showcase more of these collaborations.

Fugard's Statements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act

The recent furore over a DA youth poster, led to some interesting comments in the newspapers - some commented that it was a cheap marketing ploy, others commented against the naked models in the posters and off course there were commnents on the inter-racial couple itself. In many respects, the timing of the poster couldn't be a better advertisement for the staging of one of Athol Fugard's earliest plays.

The Fugard Theatre is off course an apt location for the performance of an Athol Fugard play (I believe that the theatre and the playright are not directly connected). Located in District Six, in a renovated old building; and in its young lifetime it has hosted some impressive acts (as advertised prominently on the lobby walls). It has a strange combination of formalism and informalism at the same time - M commented at the fact that it was probably the most well dressed crowd she had come across in Cape Town (and we were very much under dressed in t-shirts and jeans); while they also happily let you take your drinks from the bar into the theatre with no issues.

If you felt that the DA poster was inciteful, then don't bother with going to the play - not only is the play about inter-racial relationship (under apartheid) but the two main characters are also nude throughout. Set in a time when inter-racial relationships were illegal, the play is about the relationship between a single, white librarian (played by Bo Petersen) and a slightly younger, coloured school principal (played by Malefane Mosuhli). The set and lighting design is deceptively simple; but very effective - and you almost don't notice that all the actors are actually on stage when you go in to take your seat.

It starts of slowly; and almost too dramatically. But as the story evolves, it pulls the audience in and the flowery monologues disappear. It is not a happy story, and after the performance Mr Mosuhli commented that he hoped it didn't spoil my evening. It's a story that is still relevant; because, as the DA poster controversy revealed, we still have a long way to go. The play runs till 11 Feb, if you are in Cape Town - go. And if you aren't, maybe it will come to your neck of the woods.

Music: Claire Phillips and Jimmy Dludlu

I think my first music concert I attended was Soweto String Quartet playing at the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. It was an UCT RAG initiative, and I believe one of the first concerts ever in the gardens. Since then, there has been a regular season of music concerts in the gardens, drawing a wide range artists.

I am back in Cape Town, and since M is also here; we decided to go have a picnic in the late afternoon, while enjoying jazz legend Jimmy Dludlu (interestingly there is a German wikipedia page, but no English) and local artist Claire Phillips.

Despite the strong summer sun, the grounds were packed. We still managed to find some shade at the back, though that did reduce the visibility of the stage somewhat. The MC was annoying, in his attempt to say something meaningful about the artists, but instead just babbling on.

I am not sure if there is an exact "type" of music for Claire Phillips - it was a bit of jazz and a bit of pop. It sounded good; but it was not very spectacular. She did engage the audience a lot; and drew warm applause at the mention of her (and the band's) imminent second album.

Jimmy Dludlu's set started rather slowly, but slowly much of the audience started to stand-up and dance along. He played some of his big hits, with barely a pause between songs; and included a song from Michael Jackson which got high approval from the crowd.

It was not the most active concert I have been to; but it was a relaxing way to spend the afternoon/early evening. I do think both artists' music would be better experienced in a more intimate setting of a club, but it was still enjoyable. If you are in Cape Town, I can't think of many better ways of spending a Sunday afternoon in the summer.

Table Mountain

I effectively left Cape Town in June 2007; but I have been back many times since. In fact, since April last year, I have spent a significant amount of my time in Cape Town. And I have been wanting to hike up Table Mountain every time; but never got round to it for some reason or another. In fact last time I was in Cape Town, I brought my backpack, my hiking boots, etc. and it rained ... in December!

Today, despite the hot weather, I decided I must walk up. So, I dumped all the contents of my office backpack, grabbed a large bottle of water and went off; in the late afternoon. There wasn't as much shade as I hoped for - but it was enough. And although I made some good time in the initial 70 - 80% of the way up; the last bit was a real struggle; though it seems more for my fitness than the heat (although I was soaked as if I just got out of the pool).

Despite the heat and the struggle; I really enjoyed the peace and quiet. Despite it still being the holiday season, there weren't too many people when I was going up. I assume the heat turned many people off. There was a hive of activity from the birds and insects; and I even spotted a small buck foraging on the cliffs of Platekloof Gorge; which is a very rare sight on the mountain.

In the end I decided to take the cable car down - I haven't been on it since my first time up the mountain, about 9 years ago. As the heat waned, a lot more visitors appeared, and the cable cars were very busy. I need to go up more often (and come down the gorge also!).

Inside a Missile Factory

Gizmodo has a link to a Russian blogger, who "broke" into a working Russian missile factory and took a whole lot of pictures. Apparently there was no real security, and although it is a working factory, next to no workers. The photography of the decaying, mostly rusted plant is amazing ... wonder how long it will remain live ...

Gizmodo Link
Blog Link

Mr Magic's Chameleon

On New Year's eve, the City of Johannesburg, holds a carnival on the streets of the CBD. Even though it is 8 years old, it does not seem to be very well supported. In fact, I would guess that UCT's RAG float procession gets more support than this carnival.



This year's theme was on the environment, and of the lot, Region B's Chameleon stood out. Designed by "Mr Magic", a magician by trade. The chameleon was built with simple materials - cloth, a few shopping trolleys and some bamboo - but like all magic tricks; the effect was brilliant. And the rationale was profound - the earth is changing, and we need to change our ways to halt the destructive effects of the change. The chameleon represents the change, and the fact that we can and must adapt to the change.





Incidentally, there seems to be quite a few "Mr Magic"s in Johannesburg ... leave a comment, and I will send his contact details to you ...

The Personalisation of Computing

The Computer History Museum has a special feature on Steve Jobs, and one of the artifacts is a film clip from the early 1980s, where Steve Jobs talking about Apple. The Apple-II had been released, and this was before the modern PC era of Intel and Microsoft; so the insights are particularly interesting given what would come to be in the following 30 years.

The two highlights of his rather short talk (10 minutes with another 10 minutes of questions) was his observations on how the next generation will really be able to leverage the tool that is a personal computer; and why the personal computer was more powerful than the mini-computer or mainframes of the day. With the move to cloud computing, there is now a reversal of the personal computer in many respects - we are now going back to using shared resources and shared systems; although it is now far more accessible than the comparable systems of the day.

The video is here, and the full Steve Jobs special is here.

Movie: The One Percent

Jamie Johnson, one of the descendants of the founders of multinational Johnson & Johnson, made an interesting documentary a few years ago on the growing wealth gap in America - particularly between the richest 1 percent and the rest. With the emergence of Occupy Wall Street and after the recession; the movie becomes quite interesting viewing.

The movie also resonant with South Africa - years earlier, Jamie's father, Jim, made a movie on the wide income disparity in Apartheid South Africa - something that has yet to be addressed after nearly 18 years of political freedom. The trappings of wealth in the US shown is eerily similar - rich estates with high security, broad open spaces, almost next to run down inner city slums; the huge political clout of the rich and the almost hopelessness of an escape for some.

There are some interesting interviews; especially with Nobel laureate Milton Friedman; but I am not really sure of what he was trying to achieve? To show that there are some rich people who care? Or to show that there are rich people who don't believe that there is a problem with a wealth gap? The most interesting criticisms, such as the effect on politics are not explored enough - while scenes such as that of Hurricane Katrina, while powerful does not seem to have any real point.

While interesting, it comes across as a half baked thesis - it could have been so much more.

You can watch the full movie on YouTube.

Uncomfortable Shouting Match

After flying back to Johannesburg this evening, decided to meet with M at Eastgate for a snack/light supper. With Christmas round the corner, the mall was full, with all the shops open until 9pm. We decided to go to the Bread Basket - it is the only place in the mall with somewhat healthy food, and seating away from the crowds.

As we came in, it was quite clear that the manager (or owner of the franchise) was quite agitated. She kept on muttering and shouting at the employees, with no regard to the customers in the store. When I was in the queue to pay for our order (you pay and then sit down), she interrupted the cashier to get her to do something without apologising to the customer she was interrupting. From her mutterings, it seems that two of her more senior employees were out for their lunch break (it was about 7pm).

A short while later, the two employees returned; and each got dragged to her "office". There a one sided shouting match erupts, with a few expletives, a few "is this normal" etc. etc. In fact it was so loud, that even the baby that was crying (outside the store) was drowned out. A few customers who were browsing quietly left; while another old lady commented "has she gone mad". The other employees looked quite sheepish and tried to pretend that nothing was wrong. We learnt from our waitress that she was actually working 8am - 9pm, and I was quite impressed that she still had a smile on her face; and that also easily explains why someone can have a lunch break at 7pm!

It sort of brings an ethical conundrum - does one support a business where the owner/senior manager has no respect for their customers, and are happy to openly berate their employees; or should one support it because the employees are actually very warm and helpful? The manager/owner's conduct was disgraceful and it felt really uncomfortable to be there. I don't think I will go back there soon - despite how good their food is.

Wonderful World

Despite the recent controversy, BBC still has some of the best nature documentaries. Assembled from a cross section of a number of such documentary series, BBC's ad of "Wonderful World" (with David Attenborough narrating Louis Armstrong's classic) captures the sentiment wonderfully.

Mass Public Transport

South Africa in general does not have good mass public transport. Yes, there is Reya Vaya in Jo'burg, MyCiti in Cape Town, a host of bus companies and off course the ubiquitous taxi; but it is very dysfunctional if compared to some other countries - both developed and developing.

Good mass public transit (comprising a combination of trains, subways, trams and buses) is a combination of

• efficiency (helped by initiatives such as dedicated bus lanes and co-ordinated timing reducing waiting at stops),
  
• coverage (for example in Germany, despite the love of cars, it is possible to get almost anywhere by public transport),
  
• economical (public transport will not be faster, but should be cheaper) and
  
• good usability (easy to search for transport, availability at most times of the day, fairly frequent buses etc)

Some of South Africa's efforts in this space has been good - Gautrain is a shining example - but they do not really tick all the boxes. For example, even though there are integrated Gautrain buses, their coverage is pretty small - and other public transport options, including taxis, are not integrated well.

In the US, Washington DC has a great public transport system, though its coverage is not as good, as say New York. The Atlantic has an interesting article on research looking at, not only the economical impact of the system, but also what the impact would be if the system didn't exist. The impacts are not surprising - more traffic, more parking requirements in the cities, more roads. But it is a nice parallel to why South Africa should perhaps spend a lot more and go towards an integrated mass public transport system. It does not need to be all state owned - there should be no reason why taxis and existing bus companies cannot be part of the integrated system. We cannot just continue to expand highways and build parking lots.

Nightwish's Imaginaerum

After a fairly long hiatus since their last studio album (Dark Passion Play was released about 4 years ago), Nightwish is back with a new album. And it was certainly worth the wait.

Dark Passion Play was the first album featuring Anette Olzon, replacing Tarja Turunen, whose operatic voice was certainly a key component of the Nightwish sound. I loved the album, but the sound had certainly changed, and this split off a number of fans. Part of the problem was that Anette's voice just didn't really fit all the tracks. It just did not seem to come across as metal.

All that is rectified in Imaginaerum. Anette's voice just fits the songs perfectly; and every song in the album brings something interesting. Starting off with the very first song, which starts off with the tune of an old music box, it is a rare Nightwish track in Suomi. Then there is the brilliant, jazzy "Slow, Love, Slow", which works surprisingly well for a metal album. The most interesting song, "Song of Myself", is one of the long Nightwish suites (14 minutes or so); based on the poem of the same name by Walt Whitman. In between, the songs features orchestral elements (the London Philharmonic), choral backing and the bagpipes from Dark Passion Play make a reappearance.

Imaginaerum was conceptually pieced together as a movie, telling the tale of an old songwriter suffering from dementia; and his recollections. The accompanying movie will be released sometime next year; certainly looking forward to it.

Fry's Planet Word

In an earlier post, I mentioned the series on languages by the BBC, Fry's Planet Word, presented by author, comedian and actor Stephen Fry. For a number of reasons, I only got round to finishing the series today - watching the last 3 (of 5) in one go.

It is an absolutely stunning series; with each episode giving something to think about. Starting with the very essence of language, and exploring the concept that language is what sets homo sapiens apart from other animals (in episode 1), to the cultural and societal differences that have an impact on language and expression (in episode 2).

Episode 3 focused on "bad language", with gems such as why swearing is actually a primal reaction, and off course a liberal sprinkling of "fuck" (especially considering that it is a BBC documentary). Bad language is not only about swearing, but also about innuendos, propaganda, slang and derogatory words. The discussion on propaganda, not only on the traditional Nazi propaganda topics; but also the more recent "collateral damage" was particularly illuminating.

Episode 4 was on writing - exploring the history of writing, and how writing has fundamentally changed humnan society. Writing off course leads to books, and my argument on digital vs physical books was expressed and debated so much more elequently! Episode 5 rounded up on a more personal view on literature, from Joyce to Tolkien to Shakespeare to Orwel and Woodhouse.

The series is an exploration of language; on its universality and its regional nuances. It is thought provoking and manages to have interviews with a wide variety of very interesting people. It is certainly a gem in the long line of great BBC documentaries.

The Economy and Business Travel

In the past few months, I have made almost weekly trips between Johannesburg and Cape Town; which has meant a lot of flights. It initially started around April, when the regularity was around every 2 - 3 weeks, but in the past 3 months; it has been every week. In comparison to previous years, I have spent a lot more time in airports than previous years.

Surprisingly, on my return flight this week; for the first time this year, I was upgraded to Business Class. It is surprising because of a simple reason - late last year, when I had a period of regular travel - my seat on every domestic flight was upgraded. Having sufficient "status" on frequent flyer programs has meant that I am often earlier in the queue to get upgraded - but upgrades require full planes; and flights are just not that full. Airports are certainly busy; but flights are not that full to the extent of having stand-by passengers; and often the middle rows are empty on the flights. This is an observation many of my frequent flyer colleagues have also made.

This brings me to the economy - South Africa, while not in a recession does not currently have a strong economy. And trade is a big indicator of a strong economy, as is a healthy business travel volume. And it is not because business is buckling down and getting on Kulula et al. - in fact my SAA and BA flights are sometimes cheaper that the "low cost" airlines; and the same observation of a few empty seats also apply to them.

Foxconn

Techcrunch has a nice series on the future of Foxconn - the company behind the manufacturing of almost every major electronic gadget. It's an interesting read; although tinted with American expectations.

I find Foxconn city to be the most interesting discussion. In my opinion, it is almost the perfect realisation of the Utopian society/communist ideal - everyone has a job, every one has a place to stay, food, entertainment etc. What breaks this ideal off course is the fact that this is a city run by a conglomerate, who has taken the idea of economies of scale to the next level. But the efficient operation does give some credence to the view that business could operate cities more efficiently than politicians - but then, they don't have the same goals (or income sources).

Sardines in the bay

I had initially planned to go up Table Mountain this afternoon (on yet another trip to Cape Town). Unfortunately it was raining with the tablecloth on the mountain, so I decided to get some fish and chips from the take-away in Hout Bay's Mariner's Wharf; one of the best places to get fish and chips in Cape Town.

There was a lot of activity on the beach, with a number of fishermen catching fish using nets. The bay was full of sardines - and it was not only the fishermen having a blast - seals were having feast as were seagulls. In the clear water of the bay, the sardine shoals were clearly visible, and the fish bones littered the rocky edges and shallow areas of the beach - remnants of a higher tide.

Speaking to a few fishermen, it seems that this is a fairly irregular occasion, with at least one claiming this to be the first time ever. No matter - it is quite impressive to see. Some pics and commentary here, here and here.

Woolworth's Cafe Cloud

The local British Airways (Comair) struck a deal with Woolworths a couple of years ago to supply the meals. I think that the food on Kulula is also from Woolies actually. Unless you fly business, airline food is usually rather crap; but there was promise of good things with Woolies - after all, the food options are the same as the ready to eat meals ...

However, except for the sandwiches or the snack food you get on the non breakfast/lunch/dinner flights; Woolies version of the airline food is actually quite bad. I have been traveling between Johannesburg and Cape Town a lot this past year, so I have had the opportunity to try out all the various options - and they are all horrible - especially the dinner options; which is inevitably something smothered in cheese. I have often eaten the same options as the ready to eat meals; and they are far superior - so where are they going wrong? I will go so far as to say that I have even been turned off from buying some of the ready to eat meals after a flight.

Most of us are Neanderthals

This article in The New Yorker, has a profile on how most persons in the world, other than Africans themselves have Neanderthal genes. This off course does have an implication (which is strangely not explored in the article) on the meaning of the political idea of race. The idea that modern humans (Homo Sapiens) won in the real species war/race consisting of at least tow, possibly more competing species in achieving dominance is interesting - the fact, that this could have arisen due to cross breeding is even more so.

The Earth's Children Series, by Jean M Auel explores the idea of human-neanderthal interaction; as well as the ostracisation of each others species - in an almost modern racial sense. While the entire series is fiction, a lot of the theories and concepts used in the story telling - especially with regards to human-neanderthal interaction, is seemingly on the ball. Since much of this was written before current evidence, especially a prophetic vision of the "mixed children" inheriting the earth is particularly interesting.

The New Yorker article is also notable for giving a wider overview of paleogenetics; which in itself is interesting. While the idea of recreating Jurassic Park is written off (apparently genetic material just won't survive that long) what is possible, and what is being revealed is very interesting.

Digital vs Physical Books

I love books - those that you can hold, put on a bookshelf, use as a paperweight, leave it lying about in the lounge, use as a prop to hold other things in their place. I have a fair number of books, including a whole box (and more) unread ...

But the same things that I like about books, are the same things that make them difficult - they are heavy, they are unwieldy, difficult to carry around. I was on my way to Cape Town on the day that Walter Issacson's biography of Steve Jobs launched; and for me, it became an interesting decision on whether to buy the digital copy on iTunes or the hard cover at Exclusives (before boarding the plane).

There was an interesting contrast in pricing - the hardcover was approximately R300, while the iBooks version was USD 16, roughly 50% of the hardcover. This is exactly the type of business models I envisaged in my thesis on DRM - the digital copy, which is effectively licensed (as opposed to owned), has a lot more restrictions (e.g. restrictions on sharing, resale) compared to the physical copy; and one would expect a difference in cost. This cost difference extends to the US also (and is not just a result of exchange rates etc) - the retail price for the book is USD 35; though it can be found now at a much more discounted price.

In the end, I did buy the digital copy - mostly because I was going to be reading most of it while traveling - on the plane, on the Gautrain, in my hotel/BnB room. I like reading on my iPad - but strangely, this is the only book I have exclusively read on it (I have some "textbooks" on PDF that I have also read; though I actually prefer the physical book to the PDF). I do however miss it on my bookshelf ...

Movie: Columbiana

Leon (The Professional), which introduced Natalie Portman, is one of my favorite movie. Columbiana, was promoted, locally at least, as the spiritual successor to Leon; and hence my interest in going to see it. Unfortunately, beyond the theme of a young girl wanting to learn how to kill, so that they can avenge their family's murders - there is very little in similarity.

It is a fairly good action movie; with enough guns and explosions; and the two assassinations that show off the skills of the heroine are quite well thought out (in terms of execution). But the movie does not have the same depth of character development, wit, or even dialogue. It is fun to watch; but nothing impressive.

Exotic - JPO's 4th Season 5th Concert

Since the first draft of the 4^th season program, published at the back of the program for the 3^rd season - this is the concert I was really looking forward to. And I made sure, that I would be back from Cape Town in time to attend. Unfortunately, the general attendance of the concert was poor; with a lot of empty seats - they missed one of the best concerts in recent times for the JPO.

The concert started with The Overture from Rossini's opera, La Cenerentola (or Cinderella). A very lively piece, it defined the mood of the concert in general. It started in a somewhat halting fashion, as various instruments in the orchestra played short pieces; but it slowly merged together to really showcase orchestral music in full flow.

I had never heard a double bass concerto before, and this was the reason for my initial interest. The soloist, Venezuelan Edicson Ruiz, is a product of the El Sistema (as was the conductor, Christian Vásquez); and has a claim to fame as the youngest ever member of the Berlin Philharmonic; further piqued my interest. The first concerto, Hoffmeister's Violone Concerto, D major was interesting, but I wouldn't say remarkable. The second concerto, following the break Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf's Doublebass Concerto, E-flat major - oh wow. The first and third movements were fast and lively - but it is the second, middle movement, which is fairly slow (and quite somber) that really shows off the double bass as an instrument. It was quite mesmerising; and Edicson Ruiz is a very lively performer (unlike most classical soloists), shadow conducting the orchestra or swaying with the music, as if he was dancing with the double bass; while not performing. He really looked fully engaged with the music and nothing else - and it was a performance to behold.

After the classical European composers, the next set of pieces were from Argentinian composer Alberto Ginastera's ballet Estancia (The Ranch). The selection was particularly notably for the wide variety of percussion instruments, making the pieces very lively - as one would associate with Latin dances; and there was a rousing applause from the audience after the performance.

The last piece of the evening, was Mexican composer Arturo Márquez's Danzón no. 2. There is a romantic musical feel about it, but at the same time feels like it is part of a dance; or perhaps even a party. It was a great piece to end of the evening; and the performance got a well deserved standing ovation from the audience.

It is unfortunate that the hall wasn't packed - and perhaps, the JPO should consider holding cut price sales - half price or even lower, but only 1 hour before the show. It makes no sense to have an empty theater after all. There is one more performance - tonight at the ZK Matthews Hall in the Unisa campus. This is a concert that should not be missed ...

It wasn't only RSA

Back in March, RSA Security, disclosed that it had been the target of a spear phishing attack, that led to the compromise of one of its crown jewels - the RSA SecureID token system. The attack was brilliant in its execution - a phishing email that was simple but did not look like a 419 Scam, usage of a zero day flaw in Adobe Flash, and a multi-level attack that slowly, but carefully infiltrated the organisation. The techniques themselves, as discussed here, are not that advanced - but it was certainly well thought out and put together.

In a recent blog post, the author discloses a number of other organisations that have also been attacked by the same set of attackers. The blog post is scant on details on the mechanisms deployed or even where the data comes from; but it does make interesting reading.

Yes, there is a group that runs the world

The idea of a group of people who secretly control the world, is staple fare of many fictional novels. From the Free Masons to the Illuminati, to various groups in between; the fiction is lined with controlling agendas, secret hangouts and off course rituals. It seems that it is not all fiction ...

As reported in New Scientist, a research group from ETH Zurich conducted an analysis of 43 060 corporations, untangling their capital ownership structures and creating a network of ownership of these corporations. Once all the networks are untangled, only 147 companies remain as the sole owner of capital - so the Illuminati group is not a small clandestine group; but it is far smaller than one would have thought.

It is not surprising that the list is dominated by financial companies; though there are a few notable exceptions - such as Walton Enterprises and China Petroleum. The data is understandably old, and thus the pecking order may have changed; but the order also shows why Lehman Brothers' failure was so catastrophic - in 2007, it was 34^th most powerful corporation in the world in terms of economic power; and thus it is no wonder that its failure affected so many others globally.

Also interesting to see is the various nationalities of the companies represented; with one South African company, Old Mutual, on the list (although Old Mutual now claims to be a British company, although it is still largely based in South Africa in terms of workforce and revenue). There is not much detail beyond the top 50 companies, but on the top 50 list, I was surprised to see no South American or Indian companies, or even a lot more of the sovereign wealth funds from the Middle East.

The full paper can be found here. It does not mention any prospective future research areas, but given the impact of Lehman Brothers' failure, I would suggest that the next step should be to look at the impact of a network node failure. For example, should there be another failure of a major financial institute, what other corporates would be impacted?

Choir and Orchestra - JPO's 4th Season 4th Concert

M loves choral performances, so a full performance of Mozart's Mass was very enticing, regardless of the fact that neither of us have any religious persuasions, or even any catholic history. Last year's scheduled performance was postponed as it was felt that the choristers were not ready. There was a change in choir (now the Opera Africa choir) and soloists from Opera Africa; the only thing missing was a full blown organ (the orchestra had an electronic organ I think). It was a brilliant performance, with the soprano Kelebogile Boikanyo being particularly impressive. One change I would make in the program though - include the text and translation in the program!

In addition to the choral mass, the first part of the program featured Berio's Rendering for Orchestra. Based on Schubert's uncompleted 10^th symphony, it was different to JPO's usual fare - more eerie (perhaps gearing up for Halloween), slow and rather unenergetic. I didn't really like it, but can't really work out why.

Shatner sings Bohemian Rhapsody

Wow - absolutely brilliant! (YouTube Link)

20th Century Pieces - JPO's 4th Season 3rd Concert

It was a hot Sunday afternoon; but instead of dozing off, I decided to go see the JPO playing in Pretoria. The Pretoria concerts are never full house, and the attendance was even sparser today.

The concert started off with the most recent piece - Benjamin Britten's Suite on English Folk Tunes, op.90. It was a medley of tunes, most notable in how certain movements focused on specific instruments - like the woodwind and percussion in one; or the violins in another. Not really sure of what to make of it really.

Cellist Maria Kliegel performed Elgar's Cello Concerto before the break. The piece is stunning - especially how the orchestra and the soloist feeds off each other in their various parts; and it was a brilliant performance from the soloist. I quite like the melancholic sound of the cello, and this piece captured the mood after World War 1 perfectly.

I did not like Shostakovich's 9^th Symphony the previous time I heard it performed; perhaps I just didn't pay enough attention. The bassoon solo in the 4^th movement, is absolutely haunting (supposed to capture the mood of a Jewish man praying, after WW2 according to the program); the brass sections give a resounding military feel, but at the same time, it seems more like a celebration than a mourning. Perhaps it was just a masterful performance - regardless, it was great to listen to; and totally reverses my opinion on the piece.

Dining and Music

My sister chose "The Brass Bell" in Kalk Bay in a fairly random manner (well she wanted fish, and I wasn't that keen on Waterfront). Upon arriving we discovered that they were hosting live music on their "Bikini Deck", which offers the experience of seeing crashing waves up close (made more dramatic due to the high tide).

It was a fairly expensive cover charge, but it was Arno Carstens and Albert Frost, playing two sets (of approx 40 minutes each). The pop-rock music is hardly slow, background accompanying dinner music - but it did create quite a vibe. I am not too familiar with either soloists music, but there were quite a few Springbok Nude Girls classics; and I assume quite a few from Albert Frost also. His guitar playing was particularly impressive, and was certainly the highlight of the show - especially when he went into his Latin American inspired solos; which would have been perfectly at home in the Cuban restaurant next door.

The Brass Bell is a nice restaurant, but to be honest, I think it is better for its views and service than its actual food. Overall, I still prefer Hout Bay harbor restaurants for their seafood; but the music was a nice touch and thoroughly enjoyable.

The Great Tech War

FastCompany has a brilliant article analysing the four tech giants (Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Google), and their turf war for supremacy - from social networks, to media to consumer products. It is strange to see an analysis of tech giants that excludes the traditional powers - Microsoft, IBM and Oracle - but then the traditional giants are more enterprise focused than mass market consumer focused; and the new powers have made money from the masses.

The article however does ignore non-American contenders. At this moment in time, that is correct - but I think the second tier of Foxconn, Samsung, Baidu, AliBaba, Softbank, HTC, etc. are going to provide significant challenge to these four, and will ultimately have a big say on the outcome in this "war". Be it Foxconn's mass production facilities, Samsung's silicon or the business platform provided by Ali Baba; there are many more companies that cannot be ignored.

Toll Road Suggestion

I have become quite addicted to 1.00 FTE, and the following comic (which is more that a year old) captures perfectly what I think we should do for the Gauteng Toll road - pay if the roads are free and uncongested; and get discounts if they are congested. Since the system should be able to calculate average speed, it should be easy to enforce also!