Art of the Brick

It took quite a few months to convince M that we should go see The Art of the Brick - an exhibition of artwork by Nathan Sawaya, made of Lego bricks - and we were both glad to have finally gone. There are some amazing sculptures - both replicas of famous works and original works. Almost all the works are made from classic lego pieces (of differing colours off course); which really showcases the versatality of the toy. The show has been extended by a few days - if you haven't gone; go.

New Bike

I bought my old bike 10 years ago. Back then it was a good bike for the price - it had front shocks (yes that was a novel feature) - but most of the components and features are significantly outdated today (such as v-brakes). Since I restarted cycling seriously 2 and a bit years ago, I have been itching to get a new one. Once MN landed one of the only Sliverback Slade 1s in the country a few weeks back; I decided to get one too.

The Slade 1 has medium range components (Shimano XT, Rock Shox Gold) and an amazingly light frame. I decided to get cleats also, and it has taken me a while to get acclimatised to cycling with the front of your foot. And it is a joy to ride - especially uphill! I took it on my current circuit at Groenkloof and made good time for a first ride - 8 minutes up on the previous ride, and 0.8 km/h faster. Once I get used to bike, I expect even better times and speed.

Lastly, Anton from Summit Cycles has provided great service in the process - from measuring before order, to setting up the bike optimally. Looking for a bike in Northern Jo'burg - go check out Summit Cycles.

Coffee and Chocolate Expo

Expos can be a hit and miss affair, and IMO it depends on the combination of exhibitors, activities and the uniqueness of the combination. This weekend's Coffee and Chocolate Expo was largely a miss.

For R100 entry, you didn't get much. Yes, there was a band playing, but it was outside and cold; so not much going there. The exhibitors were largely the same that you find around Jo'burg - either commercial chains such as Vida and Seattle Coffee or those that frequent weekend markets. There were some gems in the rough; but overall it wasn't worth it.

Movie: Jurassic World

20 years ago, Jurassic Park was a ground breaking movie - not only the visual effects but the scary impact of genetic engineering taken to the limit. Jurassic World, pays quite a bit of homage to this past; and introduces a dinosaur that is "bigger, scarier and cooler" - made by genetically splicing a number of species of modern and ancient species - that is both dangerous and intelligent. It is not groundbreaking like Jurassic Park, and the concept is more like a zoo gone mad than a natural park (as anyone who has been to a safari can attest); but it is still fun. Throw in some family drama, regurgitate some plot lines from the earlier movies, and even better special effects - and you have a highly entertaining movie; despite the poor script.

Xiaomi Mi Band - The Long Usage Review

There are two amazing features of Xiaomi's Mi Band - it's price of 99 HKD and its battery life of approximately 180 days.I bought mine on my first day in Hong Kong (on 2 March); and have worn it for most of the time since. The band is comfortable, although I would have preferred a band that stretches a bit more. I do take it off before showering - so I can't vouch for its water-wear.

The band has two major functions - step counting (as the general activity monitoring) and sleep monitoring. The step counter, at least when taking steps, is quite accurate. I actually tested in on the 4 odd Km walk around the top of Victoria Peak, and the distance counter was spot on. I am not sure how it works for other activities though - the reading during my bike rides seem a bit low for example.

The sleep counter has been more iffy - it largely gets it right; but I find that it sometimes gets waking up times wrong - especially if I have hit the snooze button a few times :) I do like the view of "deep sleep" and "light sleep"; but can't really vouch for its accuracy! There have been some other weird bugs - like recording sleep activity when I was not sleeping (e.g. watching a movie or reading a book for a long period of time) or not recording sleep activity during a short nap in the afternoon. Since I don't do either of those type of activities frequently, I have only noted a few examples of this occurring.

The software does integrate to Apple Health - though this aspect has been quite buggy in a few different ways:

• Apple Health and Mi Band double counts. If I have my iPhone in my pocket, and walk - Apple Health counts both those steps and those recorded by the band; and instead of correlating it adds these up.
• The sleep tracker in Mi Band is editable (to record more accurately waking time at least). However, edits do not seem to feed through to Apple Health.
• The sleep tracker in Apple Health does not account for "deep sleep" and "light sleep"

When I was in Hong Kong, the Mi Band was great to keep track of how much I actually walked in the city; and there has been a great contrast in the drop off in walking since then. I often miss the 8000 steps default target during the work days -  although this does depend on which office I am based at. The activity tracker has not changed my actual routines - but has made me aware of the level of activity that I have taken. So in that way I suppose, it is quite positive.

Movie: Mad Max: Fury Road

I remember bits and pieces of the Mad Max series - although Tina Turner in Beyond the Thunderdome sticks out the most. This is quite different - in fact, Mad Max is not really the main star of Fury Road; but rather Charlize Theron's Imperator Furiosa puts in the commanding performance as the hero. 

The cinematography is stunning, the stunts are stunning, the sound track is perfect - and Charlize Theron puts in a really great performance. It is a great action movie and great fun.

Uitkyk

The views from the top are stunning, especially on a clear day. Unfortunately, there's not much more to say about the hike up to the top - the rest of the scenery is rather drab, and the hike itself is not very exciting. It is basically up and down, and although it's a steep climb, it's not much of a challenge if you are not unfit. In terms of logistics, secure parking is available at the start at the Risski Estate; and the trail is relatively well marked and maintained. Reservations are required, and the minimum group number is 6; although for us, there was no one there to check either the permits or the group number. See the Footprint page for more details.

Modderfontein Reserve and Northern Farm

I started regular mountain biking after a long break about 2 years ago; and have largely stuck to Groenkloof Nature Reserve just outside Pretoria. Groenkloof has a lot of variety in terms of length and difficulty of tracks; and over the past two years, I have steadily increased both the distance and difficulty of my rides.

In the past few weeks, I have branched out to other venues - Modderfontein reserve, and Northern Farm. Both venues are more well known, and more popular; but strangely much of their tracks are relatively easy in terms of difficulty. In fact, except for some sandy trails, there isn't much in terms of difficult terrain (both venues seem to focus more on distance it seems) - at least on the intermediate rated tracks I have ridden.

While neither has the large game that roam Groenkloof (so no running into giraffes, zebras and ostriches), the do compensate with more dams and greenery. In fact, Modderfontein dam spots a neat waterfall near the entrance of the trail (and the view from the Gautrain as it approaches Marlboro station in the mornings can be spectacular).

I will keep riding on Groenkloof for most weeks - the uphills and terrain may be more painful; but equally their downhills are faster and more exhilarating; and it ultimately provides more exercise. Northern Farm and Modderfontein can serve as nice breaks in routine however - and I am keen to explore other opportunities for more such breaks.

Swan Lake

While I am not a fan of his ballets, I love Tchaikovsky's ballet scores - especially the score of Swan Lake. Thus, M did not have to try too hard to persuade me to go to a performance of Swan Lake this month. There are two ballet companies showcasing Swan Lake this month, and we settled on the St Petersburg Ballet company's performance at Montecasino.

I can't really judge the ballet performance itself; other than make a few lay man observations. The prince (the male lead), didn't seem to have much presence - in fact, it seemed that the jester and the magician had far more presence and activity than the prince. The jester for example, was far more energetic and seemed to have most of the acrobatic performance. In comparison, Odette (the lead swan), definitely had stage presence and commanded the stage when she performed. The dancers were backed up with a magnificent stage production; in terms of the backdrops and costumes - so it was a visually stunning feast.

As for the music - it was fantastic. It was great to hear the music in sequence and link the music to the actual story. The Johannesburg Festival Orchestra gave an amazing performance; and overall it was a great performance (although I am not rushing to watch more ballet performances).

Movie: The Imitation Game

In my opinion, biographical films should try to portray the character and events as realistically as possible. This is particularly important, as biographical movies have a far wider audience than books and other biographical material - and also to preserve the accuracy of the character and achievements; not only of the main subject but also of the characters around the subject. In all of these respects, by all accounts, The Imitation Game, is a failure in the portrayal of Alan Turing and his fellow cryptographers.

The movie gets too many things wrong. Alan Turing was not a self centred, isolated genius who single handedly broke the Enigma code. The Enigma code was not the only code to be broken, and its success did not happen all at once. Fellow cryptographers also had significant contributions to the project. The military management did not actively hinder the project. And so, the list goes on.

That said, the performance of Benedict Cumberbatch was impressive - and the movie does make a fine inspirational tale. It's just a pity that the real tale is just as amazing and didn't need to be fictionalised.

Movie: Avengers: Age of Ultron

I suppose that it was inevitable - that the villain the Avengers fight are created by the Avengers. It's the logical extension of the Hydra movement hatched in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. In the latest Avengers, it is Ultron, an AI built by Tony Stark, that goes rogue, and wants to rush in the age of the machines (like that plot hasn't been done before).

As to be expected, the movie is action packed; corny one liners, generally unbelievable physics and weird geography errors (we go from a rusting shipyard to Johannesburg in the same scene sequence). It is a fun movie, but the movies have become formulaic. Brainless entertainment, can still be entertaining though!

Movie: Dear White People

The synopsis of the movie on Ster-Kinekor's site (and for that matter on IMDB) was rather mundane; but the movie is far better than it sounds. Set in a posh private university, the movie is an exploration of various racial stereotypes, and dynamics - especially told from a black perspective. Well written, with very sharp dialogue - it is a welcome departure from other movies that have explored similar themes. 

The movie takes place around the events surrounding a "blackface" themed Haloween party. For a script that has poses some very strong questions on racial dynamics, it strangely doesn't really explore why the concept of "blackface" is itself degrading; and instead focuses on the specifics in the movie plot itself. Regardless, it is a very sharp commentary on racial dynamics of our times.

Pops Mohamed and The Millenium Experience

Towards the end of the performance, Pops Mohamed talked about how unique South Africa was in the ability to produce the type of music that was performed last night. It wasn't hyperbole - Pops Mohamed has managed to take fusion of cultures and music to a whole new level - combining classical Indian music (featuring tabla and sitar performed by Ashish Joshi and Poorwi Bhana respectively); traditional African instruments (predominantly the kora but also many others, including a San bow, thumb piano and various whistles performed by Pops Mohamed) and Western instruments (saxophones and flute performed by Sipho 'Hotstix' Mabuse).

And the music produced was equally diverse. There were new compositions that seamlessly weaved in the various instruments; to re-arrangements of classics - an Indian classical raga (led by Poorwi Bhana), Mabuse's breakout 70's hit Burnout, and the Beatles' Norweigan Wood (although that does feature the sitar in the original version). 

If I were to choose amongst the amazing pieces, the two standouts for me was the new composition "African Dreams" and a traditional San piece "Honey song". African dreams combined all the genres seamlessly, with Pops Mohamed and Sipho Mabuse starting an impromptu duel on the saxophone and kora respectively; followed by the rest of the band thereafter. It was spontaneous, lively, fun and an amzing showcase of instrumental prowess. The San piece had story on the collection of honey in the desert; and featured Pops Mohamed playing music with a bow pressed in his mouth. It's difficult to describe - but it was an amazing showcase of a very tribal form of music; but one that was not just beating of drums.

It was a mind-blowing performance, of new music - music that no one really had heard before; and everyone wanting more. There are no recordings (yet) - and I hope there is much more (in terms of both public performances and recordings) to come. And The Orbit once again delivered an amazing musical experience.

The Alma Chamber Orchestra with The Buskaid Soweto String Ensemble

When compared to many European cathedrals, the Regina Mundi church in Soweto is neither imposing, nor ornate - in fact it looks like a warehouse in some respects. But, it has a storied past as a refuge for anti-apartheid activists, a seat of TRC hearings and commemorates some of the iconic events in an amazing stained glass window panel. It is an apt location for a concert on peace - especially in the times of xenophobic violence.

The main sponsor of the South African leg is the Ichikowitz Family Foundation; and its founder Ivor Ichikowitz gave a passionate speech on the need for peace drawing upon the numerous conflicts around the world. All ironic, given that Mr Ichikowitz makes his money from the Paramount Group - a noted manufacturer in the defense industry.

The French orchestra, fronted by concertmaster Anne Gravoin, has had a short tour in South Africa, playing at Linder Auditorium and in Durban in the past week; and this was the last performance - a free concert together with Buskaid.

The programme consisted of a number of movements from Vivaldi (Concerto for four violins, concerto for trumpet), Elgar (romance for bassoon), Mozart (horn concerto) and Bellini (concerto for oboe). The Buskaid joined the orchestra to play Khachaturian's Masquerade Waltz and the South African national anthem, before Buskaid finished the concert off with their traditional selection of kwela, which had quite a few members of the audience singing and dancing along.

Thoughts on Rhodes

Commemorations of Cecil John Rhodes are quite prominent at Univsersity of Cape Town (UCT) - not only the statue overlooking the Cape towards Cairo on the lower bounds of Jammie Steps (the subject of the #RhodesMustFall campaign) but also above the university at the very scenic Rhodes Memorial. 

Rhodes is not the only colonial figure to be commemorated in South Africa or around the world; there are statues of colonial era Kings and Queens across the various colonies; statues of explorers who opened up the world for colonialism such as Columbus, Vasco da Gama and Livingstone in addition to the very specific colonialists, such as Rhodes, who drove for the expansion and exploitation of the colonies.

Nor is Rhodes and his most successful company - De Beers - the only company that profited from the exploitation of inhumane and racist policies. There are banks (e.g. JP Morgan Chase and Barclays) and insurance conglomerates (e.g. AIG and US Life) that profited from the slave trade; companies such as IBM, Porsche and Volkswagen that profited from Nazi era Germany and many other similar arrangements across the recent past. Entire economies and civil engineering marvels have been built underwritten by slavery and indentured labour without a whiff of modern human rights considerations.

At a recent UCT event, the vice chancellor, Dr Max Price, commented that "Rhodes is to black people in South Africa what Hitler is to Jews". On that comparison, it is incomprehensible that a statue of Adolf Hitler would still stand  in front of the entrance of a major German university 20 years after WW2. But at the same time, I do not support the German approach of erasing all mentions of nazism and its associated symbols. Erasing historical details doesn't make history go away - and instead of learning from the past, we end up burying our heads in the sand. UCT itself has changed from the intent of Rhodes' legacy - it is no longer just an institution for white males - but that doesn't mean that his other inexcusable legacies should be forgotten.

And the crux of the debate about Rhodes is more than the statue - it is about transformation of the academic staff. The fact is, the university's own policies and practices makes it difficult to transform. Appointing only staff based on retirements and vacancies means that promising "black" (in the South African EE speak) PhD and Masters students are not retained to drive the transformation. The fact that many of these students are also the first of their families to go to university and are often from financially struggling backgrounds, means that they have obligations that the stipend from a postdoctoral post, even if it is offered, won't be enough. Ultimately, Rhodes' fall won't be enough to address the underlying cause of the protest - and reducing the protest to one of simply about the statue is equally counter productive.

UCT has engaged in various forums on the question of what next. As an alumni I have a vested interest that UCT gets it right. For the statue, I would propose the way of Budapest's Soviet Statue Park. At the fall of communism various Soviet statues were collected and curated in a large outdoor park. Perhaps we can do the same - collect all the colonial (and apartheid) statues and create an outdoor park - perhaps even reuse Rhodes Memorial - so that the deeds and the context of their deeds are not forgotten; and future generations can continue to learn about the history and the implications of their deeds.

Academic staff transformation is a far trickier subject - as this is one area that does take a long time to realise. Academics won't be produced overnight - professors will still take time to write publications and supervise PhD students, and while they can be imported from various other universities; that approach doesn't necessarily improve transformation across South Africa - which should be an equal goal. And the fact that UCT has dithered in this area for so long means that this will still take time to come. 

My suggestion on the matter - create a fund to properly employ "black" graduates from UCT and beyond regardless of the department's vacancies. There is always a need to grow research capacity; so excess staff is not really a problem. These new members of staff can then move on as vacancies do come out - but now with experience and research credits under their belt, so they are no longer prejudiced by timing and lack of experience. This program cannot be a postdoctoral year - it needs to be equivalent of at least a lecturer position that contracts for at least 3 years and staff performance is evaluated in the same manner. Thus instead of chasing away the grads into the corporate workplace, hopefully there will be sufficient retention towards building a meaningful academic staff transformation; and a program that can have meaningful impact across South Africa. And, if there was such a fund, I would contribute.

Movie: The Theory of Everything

Eddie Redmayne's amazing physical transformation as Prof. Stephen Hawking is reason enough to see this biographic movie. Redmayne manages to convey both the darkness of suffering a potentially terminal illness as well as the will and optimism involved in becoming, perhaps the most famous scientist of our time. It is a snapshot of almost 50 years, so it doesn't necessarily always explain how ground breaking his work is; but the movie is not so much about his work but about his life. It's an amazing biopic that thoroughly deserves the plaudits it has received.

Movie: American Sniper

Throughout the film, many characters ask the protagonist "why are you doing this". Chris Kyle, played by a very bulked up Bradley Cooper, never provides a satisfactory answer. American Sniper is not the stereotypical war movie, it is more like the propaganda film within Inglorious Basterds. It puts up a killing machine as a hero, but never explores why he is killing, other than the suggestion that it is to serve and to protect his fellow soldiers. 

But this portrayal leads to an equally interesting alternate. If soldiers are there just doing their masters' bidding - is it not the same as the very "savages" they are fighting? After all, the other side is probably doing the exact same thing - their movie about Mustafa - the Olympian sniper would probably be just as heroic and one sided. 

The victors often write the history; hence it is the American Sniper that is heroic and dies an untimely death. In an alternate universe, there maybe a similar  movie about Mustafa. And neither movie make great movies - just wonderful propaganda pieces.

Ushaka KaSenzangakhona

The biography of the legendary Mzilikazi Khumalo, describes Ushaka KaSenzangakhona as an opera - although it doesn't really have any acting performances; and it is more akin to a cantata. The piece comprises of 4 soloists (vocal), a poet/prase singer, a large choir and a full orchestra - comprising of 4 main parts charting the life of Shaka. There is an interesting Masters thesis which I briefly skimmed through regarding the authorship of the piece, specifically on the history of the orchestration of the piece; which sheds interesting light on both the complexities of musical collaboration, and the effort in tracking the contributions of the various parties in the collaboration.

In some respect, a piece celebrating the life of a warrior king, on Human Rights Day (weekend), is strange - but at the same time, the performance of a Zulu vocal work, written in the style of western classical music, performed at a venue that was once a bastion of Apartheid art performances is also a celebration of South Africa's democracy.

Joburg Theatre's production featured the Gauteng Choristers, Sibongile Khumalo as the lead soloist, joined by Thembisile Twala (soprano), Kananelo Sehau (tenor) and Nkosinathi Emmanuel Maqoma (bass) and the bulk of the JPO as the orchestra - and it was a rousing performance. The praise singer/poetry performance by Mhlonishwa Dlamini, was the only real performer on stage brought a vibrant energy, with many in the audience shouting replies back with equal gusto; and provided an amazing emotional depth to the various acts of the piece.

The piece is really amazing - the musical score, the choral and the vocal soloists combine to perform an amazing musical performance. It's a pity that this show was only for 2 performances - this is something that should be performed and attended by more people!

JPO's 1st 2015 Season, 4th Concert

It seems that the end of JPO's financial crisis is near; although the business rescue documentation continues to make grim reading. But on the strength of the final concert for the 2015 season - there is certainly hope - there was an almost capacity audience, the program and presentation was different; and there were even young members in the audience.

The evening started off with a homage to Johannesburg. WITS Professor Zaidel-Rudolph's Fanfare Festival Overture, originally written for Johannesburg's Centenary Celebration in 1986, but rescored for this performance, started the evening. Charting Johannesburg's growth, it starts of slow and slightly chaotic - but end with a flourish of percussion and African rhythms (from the Marimba and other percussion). 

Pallavi Mahidhara returned once again, this time to perform Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No.1. Like her previous performances, this was once again a stellar performance, and got a very enthusiastic response from the audience. 

The highlight of the performance, and one of the highlights of the JPO performances I have attended - is Holst's The Planets - accompanied by a projection show organised via the WITS Planetarium. This is exactly the type of collaboration that is required for the JPO to draw more audiences - combine great music, with great visuals and provide more context for the performances. The projections included pictures from the Mars Rovers, and other NASA missions such as Cassini and Voyager; and provided a spectacular backdrop to the music. 

If this happens to be the last JPO concert - then the JPO ended of with a bang! The final season had variety and drew in new audiences - and new styles of performances. Hopefully, it can continue and carry on in this fashion.

JPO's 1st 2015 Season, 3rd Concert

I missed the first two concerts of the season (as I was not in Johannesburg), and I was pleasantly surprised that the hall was a little bit fuller. Part of that could be due to a school group - I am not sure if they will return for other concerts. Daniel Boico returned to another stint as the conductor.

Schubert's Overture in D (In the Italian Style) started off the evening. I didn't really like the piece - I commented to M, that it sounded like a piece accompanying clowns in a circus at some points. It was neither memorable nor enthralling.

I am a big fan of Beethoven, and Czech pianist Lucas Vodracek, gave an amazing performance of Piano Concerto No 3. Vodracek posture at the piano was amusing - hunched over the keys, focused on making sure his fingers hit the notes correctly - so much so that M commented that it was as if, his body was built to play the piano. The performance was the exact opposite of the Schubert - both enthralling and memorable, and thoroughly deserved the standing ovation. And, as if to show off his virtuosity, he performed a jazz-inspired encore which showed of his amazing speed on the keyboard. The contrast with the Beethoven was jarring - but was an equally impressive performance.

After the break, the orchestra performed Mendelssohn's Symphony Number 4 - another Italian inspired piece to round of the evening. It was a solid performance - but yet again, nothing memorable.