Chinese New Year at Nan Hua Temple

A few years ago, O, gushed about the Chinese New Year celebrations at Nan Hua Temple. For one reason or another, I didn't go until this year.

The passages around the temple were set with stalls - from cheap electronics to vegetarian food to a lot of bubble tea. It was packed; and a variety of people were lighting incense in front of the giant Buddhas in the main shrine.

The cultural performances were equally diverse - martial arts, music and dance across Asia (including Bollywood), and African drums - but we didn't stay long.

It actually felt quite sedate - more like a large fete than a cultural celebration. Perhaps it was the hot weather, perhaps it was unrealistic expectations; it just didn't feel that amazing.

Final Concert

The final concert of the Johannesburg International Mozart Festival had two standing ovations, featured a conductor without music, and was one of the best musical concerts I have ever attended. The music spanned centuries - 229 years between the oldest and the most recent in fact.

The concert started with a slight re-arrangement of the line-up, and featured the chamber work Peter Klatzow - Lightscapes for Marimba and Five Instruments. It's a compact piece, and was performed against the backdrop of projections of various images. For me, the second batch featuring the sun and Egyptian relics achieved the harmony of images to the music - while I thought the rest didn't really work. Peter Klatzow has an earlier version on SoundCloud.

The second performance was short - but it's the concept and the performance itself that brought a standing ovation from the audience. Misconduct, conceptualised by performance artist Anthea Moys, is a combination of dance and orchestra - although not necessarily in the way you would normally imagine it. In the first half, the conductor conducts a piece of music - but there is no music from the orchestra - and there is no music - instead, the dance group - Moving into Dance Mophatong - dances on the cues of the conductor. We are told at the beginning - that only the conductor, the orchestra and Anthea Moys herself knows what the music is - the dancers haven't heard it or practised using it - they performed spontaneously. In the second half, the piece is conducted again - this time, the orchestra does play (Mozart's Overture from the Marriage of Figaro) and the dancers now dance to the music itself. The similarities in the performance - and the differences are startling - their performance itself is amazing. It is strange, exhilarating, special and a wonderful performance all round - thoroughly deserving of the standing ovation.

The second half started off with the debut of the newly commissioned piece by Peter Klatzow - All People Become Spirit People When They Die; comprising of Choir, Piano and Orchestra. Based on a poem by Stephen Watson about the San - particularly their beliefs relating to the afterlife. It's an interesting piece - sometimes sad, and a bit like a requiem - but I am not completely sure what to make of it.

The final piece, also for Choir, Piano and Orchestra was Beethoven's Choral Fantasy. I love Beethoven's music, and this had it all - great piano (performed by Florian Uhlig), great orchestral movements and then the choir that caps it off at the end. As the programme notes, it's a forerunner to the 9^th and it packs it all in. It was an amazing performance, and a perfect ending to an amazing concert.

Buskaid and Melvyn Tan

Buskaid performances are becoming a regular feature of the Johannesburg International Mozart Festival; and this year's concert was one of the highlights in Buskaid performances.

Rameau almost inevitably features in a Buskaid concert, and this year, his Overture to Pigmalion started off the rather short first half of the concert. Of the performance pieces this year, it was my least favourite - but that is not to detract from the performance itself.

At last year's concert, Sarasate's Navarra with 2 violins and orchestra featuring Kabelo Monnathebe and Simiso Radebe, was one of the highlights. It is a piece that shows of the soloist's virtuosity - and it is a testament to the talents of the senior Buskaid members. Debuted last year, Sancho’s Dance Suite by Julian Grant, a suite specifically written for the Buskaid finished off the first half.

In the first few minutes of Mozart's Piano Concerto No 12, there is only a few bars of the piano - as the string orchestra led the performance. Then, Melvyn Tan rolled up his sleeves and got stuck into the piano - and his performance with the Buskaid was mesmerising. He seemed to relish playing with the Buskaid - in the pauses while the orchestra takes over, he was paying more attention to the orchestra than Rosemary Nalden's conducting, seemingly bobbing his head, or shadow conducting to the music. And when the piano came to the fore - he was there, perfectly in time, and giving it his all. It was clearly an emotional performance - and one of the best piano concerto performances I have attended; a performance that thoroughly deserved its standing ovation.

I have head Aram Khachaturian's Waltz from Mascquerade Suite many times - though I wouldn't have been able to name it. The Buskaid members came on wearing masks, and played a perfect rendition - and a lively way to link up to their familiar Kwela and Gospel finale. The Buskaid has just finished recording a CD with 34 Kwela and Gospel numbers - none of them transcribed onto actual scores; and every concert seems to have a few new ones. It is a lively ending to the concert, and it is what makes Buskaid special.

Movie: No

Gael García Bernal stars in the Oscar nominated Chilean movie on the "No" campaign in 1988, which eventually leads to a peaceful transition to civilian, democratic rule from the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. Shot very much in the style of a TV documentary from the late 1980's, it follows the story of an advertising executive who lends his talents in driving a successful campaign that focuses on hope and happiness instead of regurgitating policy discussion points (which is favoured position of Pinochet's team).

While the acting is superb, and manages to interweave historic footage seamlessly within the movie; it is unfortunately quite simplistic (as per this NY Times article). My knowledge of Pinochet has mostly been from bits of his war crimes trial - and unfortunately this movie, while providing some view of the horrors perpetrated by his regime - glosses over what it takes to depose a dictator. Even within the movie, some of the mechanics of how the plebiscite comes to be, and the 15 minutes of opposition airtime is glossed over - and overall it ends up detracting from the power of the movie.

It is actually a good movie (as far as movies go) - but in my opinion, such oversimplification of historic events end up colouring the actual historic events, and the movie ends up being the known historic record. And for me, that is a big problem.

Movie: Birdman

Yes, Birdman has been getting rave reviews and multiple award nominations. And, it does have some great acting performances, with some amazing monologues. For me however, these acting performances and monologues do not connect together to make a great movie. Maybe, it's an actor's movie - a self indulgent movie, about the art of acting - but as a 2 hour movie, I didn't find it captivating, entertaining, informative or thought provoking. As little vignettes, it was fine - as a 2 hour movie, I was just waiting for it to end.

Mass and Requiem

The program for this year's Johannesburg International Mozart Festival is the most interesting and varied since I have been going to them. One of the problems however, is that there is so much choice - that you can only really afford the time and money to go to a few of them.

This year's opening concert, on Mozart's birthday on Tuesday, featured his last work, the unfinished Requiem, together with South African composer (and the festival's composer in residence), Peter Klatzow's Mass for Choir, Horn, Marimba and Strings.

M doesn't agree, but my reaction to Peter Klatzow's Mass, was that it was quite "New Agey", something out of fantasy movies - and would fit perfectly in the Lord of the Rings (or similar). It is fun, it is light, and very enjoyable. 

Mozart's Requiem is a long piece and very well known. But the performance by the Chanticleer Singers and the Johannesburg Festival Orchestra was equal to the task, and thoroughly deserved the standing ovation. It is off course more traditional, when compared to the preceding Mass, but it also has a sense of gravitas that the Mass didn't. 

As an opening concert, it was a great  start to the festival.

Origins Centre

I have been wanting to go to the Origins Centre at WITS for a number of years, but for some reason or another, never got round to it. Last year, I discovered that they have free entrance (for South African ID holders) on Sundays ... except they were already closed for December holidays! The entrance includes the audio guide, narated by Gcina Mhlope - a treat on its own!

The entrance itself is a bit hidden - strange given its prominence as a tourist destination - especially as the entrance hall is part of the Archeology department. The cafe and shop were closed, so it was a bit deserted this past Sunday.

The initial presentation on the development of stone tools, and progression of why humans actually originated in Africa was interesting and a great display of concepts, in quite well defined sections. This section ends with a video, on tracing the roots of all humanity to single source within Africa - and the view that the San are the closest in terms of genetic proximity to the original sources.

This understandably leads to a very interesting section on the San - through rock paintings, their spiritual world and a brilliant potrait towards the end on various topics related to the San-Colonial engagements, including their forgotten genocide and near extermination.

The last section, focused on a small history on migration of other groups into South Africa is quite underwhelming taking acount of the previous two sections. What was also missing for me - was a more detailed look at migration of humans to other parts of the world - and the demise of other related species - such as the neanderthals. 

All said, it was a facinating way to spend 2 hours on a Sunday.

Yahoo! News Digest

I am a news junkie - and I have tried numerous apps on my iPad and iPhone. Apart from Flipboard, none of these have really stuck for continued usage. I discovered Yahoo! News Digest late last month - and it has become my defacto news app. The concept really works - a set of curated news summaries (multiple editions available), twice a day. The interface is sleek, and for the most part, the additional links (twitter feeds, maps, Wikipedia entries, etc) are a nice touch. For detailed news - Flipboard is still the leader - but this app is best for catching up on the key topics.

Ryan's Kitchen

Located just outside Franschoek's Main Street, Ryan's Kitchen is listed as a restaurant specialising in contemporary South African cuisine. 

For lunch, they offer "small plates" instead of mains and starters - somewhat like slightly larger tapas portions. The advantage of this approach is off course the opportunity to try a lot more variety.

We had two vegetarian plates, two seafood plates, two meat plates and two deserts. The seafood, one angelfish, one trout were amazing - both takes on curries; but not in an Indian style. The tapioca mushroom plate was equally impressive. In comparison, the other plates had some impressive components but I was not overly impressed with the full combination. For example, the warthog was amazingly tender but the plate itself wasn't as impressive. Likewise, the Impala had amazing beetroot accompaniments but the Impala itself was fairly ordinary.

The deserts were amazing - the soufflé was soft and very fluffy; and the chocolate mouse desert was equally impressive.

Overall, I enjoyed Ryan's Kitchen more than Reuben's (on this trip); and the small playes makes a lot of sense for fine dining restaurants.

Oroboros

Oroboros is a relatively new cafe, located in York street, Muizenberg. It is tiny - just a few seats, and a bar; with a small kitchen and staff leading to fairly slow service. But the menu changes daily (it's posted on a blackboard), cheap, and best of all, amazingly good. It's a quirky place - and the food is worth it.

Table Mountain via Kasteelspoort and Corridor Ravine

I have hiked up Table Mountain numerous times, but yesterday was the first time I went up on the Camps Bay side of the mountain. Thanks to R, who seems to go up on the various routes up table mountain often, K and I got a different experience up the mountain.

We started at intersection of Kloofnek, Signal Hill and Table Mountain - and the first few kilometres is quite an easy countour path (I see it is often referred to as the pipe track); with glorious views of Camps Bay and Lion's Head. Unfortunately, the thick tablecloth at the top meant that the views from the top were non existent.

The push up Kasteelspoort is relatively steep, but well maintained path. With the strong wind and thick cloud, I found the last push to be difficult but I think this route is actually easier than Platteklip Gorge.

We stayed only for a short while at the top (given the absence of any views); and and down the Corridor Ravine - about 1 Km away. The descent was steep, on a rocky and sandy trail which eventually meets up with a jeep track around the base. Once we cleared the cloud, there was a great view of the 12 Apostles Hotel and surrounding area.

I am not sure I can rely on Strava's data from yesterday, but it looks accurate based on the other data I have seen. The full path was approx 14 Km, with the one major ascent, which is a good distance and route profile for a day hike.

Rueben's

Reuben Reifel is one of South Africa's most well known chefs; especially with his more recent appearances as a judge on Masterchef and in TV adverts. Last year, our trip to Franschoek was not planned in advance; so getting a table at a well known restaurant was out of the question. So, this year these things were planned better ...

The food lived up to the reputation - simple style, great presentation and amazing taste.

The starter, which M & I shared, was probably the most different - trout with various pickled vegetables. 

M had the Kinglip with oyster and mussel sauce and I had a chicken and prawn curry. M doesn't like mussels much but there want much left on the plate afterwards! The curry was surprisingly sweet but very flavorful. I didn't think all the accompaniments worked though - the chilli oil for example didn't make sense with the style of curry and I didn't like the carrot sambal (bottom right of the picture) at all. 

The sparsely named "salted caramel tart" turned out to be an elaborate chocolate based dessert - really rich and decadent. I had the panna cotta, with various fruits - a combination that was far superior to the other versions I have had before with berry coulois as a topping for the panna cotta. Ultimately, I suppose that is one of the key differences between the fine dining and regular restaurants.

Swartberg Pass

I read an article some years back on the spectacular unpaved Swartberg Pass connecting Prince Albert and Oudtshoorn; and have wanted to drive over since. 

It is one of the best mountain roads I have traversed (admittedly some in Peru were at night). The narrow road winds itself up the Swartberg mountains with scenic views of the valley below on one side and the cliffs on the other. It was a cloudy day, and the temperature dropped  15 degrees to a chilly 12 degrees at the top! 

The drive down to Oudtshoorn was shorter; with the fertile ground below. It's well worth the detour!

Meiringspoort

The original plan yesterday was to try to go see the Cango Caves, but I was aware that getting tickets without booking was unlikely. I also wanted a detour; and the co-owner of the BnB at Graaff-Reinet highly recommended the first part of the detour - driving through Meiringspoort. It's a spectacular gorge, with a small river and the N12. Clearly the local authorities have worked out the touristic propositions and there are lots of rest places (with braai and toilet facilities) along the route. With a public holiday, it was very busy - and the caves didn't work out - but the detours were definitely worth it!

Hester Rupert Art Museum

Housed in an old Dutch Reformed Church, which was saved from demolition by businessman Anton Rupert, the art gallery has a wide variety of South African artwork, mainly from the 1960s. There is no real theme, but there is probably something of interest for everyone. 

Graaff-Reinet

I didn't do a lot of South African history at school, but for some reason the town of Graaff-Reinet stuck in my memory. Looking for a slightly alternate way to drive to Cape Town, I decided to stop here and then follow the Swartberg range. An old town, it has some spectacular architecture - especially around the magnificent old church in the centre. Almost everything is closed today - giving this old town an even more deserted feel. 

Valley of Desolation

Located in the Camdeboo National Park outside Graaff-Reinet, the valley is best known for its spectacular rock formations  against a backdrop of the Karoo. The late afternoon sunshine lit up sections spectacularly - but I didn't manage to get such good photos :(

Movie: The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

The final instalment of The Hobbit, starts with the spectacular sequence of Smaug burning down Laketown and his ultimate demise at the hand of the Bard. Unfortunately, this is also probably the only real highlight of the movie - a franchise that has strayed often too far from the story, and extended the plot line for no real reason. 

The entire movie is about a battle - but much of it feels forced and over the top for no reason. As an example, it feels strange that suddenly the emergence of the 13 dwarves would immediately turn around the fortunes of the Dwarven and Eleven sides against the thousands of Orcs - a battle that was clearly being lost. 

All in all, while being entertaining from an action movie perspective - the series has not risen to the heights of Lord of the Rings. It's sad - I think the Tolkien universe has a lot to offer - but not in this way.

The Foo Fighters

In one of my classes in high school, I sat next to a guy who was Nirvana devotee - his pencil case was devoted to Kurt Cobain, he doodled Nirvana logos all the time, and etched Nirvana on desks. This was still a few years after Nirvana disbanded, but I was introduced to Nirvana and related bands such as Foo Fighters through him. Although I really got into Nirvana, I only occasionally listen to Foo Fighters; thus when the concerts were announced, I didn't rush to get tickets.

I did however read about their amazing concerts, and given that Kaiser Chiefs were also on the bill; I sourced some tickets via gumtree (at cost - so no scalpers prices required). The concert itself was sold out of standing and golden circle - but quite a lot of the stadium seating remained open.

I am glad I went - this was one of the best, if not the best, concert I have attended. It did not have pyrotechnic effects, or amazing lighting effects. It was just a long and energetic performance with amazing crowd rapport from Dave Grohl.

I have avoided parking at the FNB Stadium previously - but the park and ride options this time around were not ideal. The parking itself was easy to access, and well controlled; getting out however was a nightmare with very little co-ordination and control of traffic flow. Once inside the stadium, the food and merchandise stands were equally badly managed with long queues, so much so, that we ended up missing most of BLK JKS.

The last performance of Kaiser Chiefs I attended also involved Jared Leto's 30 Second to Mars, and featured Jared Leto climbing up scaffolding "to see the crowd better". Clearly front man Ricky Wilson (who also donned the Kaizer Chiefs jersey with his name on the back) learnt something - the performance was amazingly athletic; with him running across the stage, and climbing scaffolding a few times. I haven't heard much of the new album; but the performance was a combination of some of the great hits together with the new album and it was great to hear them live again.

After a couple of songs from the Foo Fighters, Dave Grohl commented that they are not "a 1 hour 30 minute band, not a 1 hour 45 minute band ... not a 2 hour 30 minute band" but rather, they will play until they can't play no more. This is not a new claim by headline acts - but for once the band delivered. For close to 3 hours, with no breaks in between, the Foo Fighters went through their repertoire - songs from every album, a song from Queen, and even a song with Dave Grohl drumming (cover of a Cheap Trick song).

The performance was a perfect example in how the live performances can be so different (and in my mind better) than the recorded albums. From additional chorus renditions, to leading the crowd through singing choruses, to long musical interludes within the song - it was an amazing concert performance.

Movie: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1

Of the three Hunger Games novels, Mockingjay is the most complicated - but I don't think it warranted a split into two parts; especially when the first part of the story is basically a set-up towards the finale. The acting is mostly mundane (including very wooden performances by actors such as Julianne Moore), and nothing really happens - although the experience does feel a bit short-changed. I think movies like these, should really be released close to each other, or just combined to be one large movie.