Democracy Scenes

I STOOD in a queue that was much shorter than I expected. It was a late afternoon in the Autumn of 2006 and the musty smell from the dust of learners shoes filled the school hall filled with sleepy, blue shirt-wearing officials idling after a long dull day.
After much nagging and soap box preaching, I had managed to drag a total of one family member, my older brother, along with me to exercise my democratic right to vote for the first time.

It was a municipal election, which for some reason translates into much fewer votes. It seems that many people don’t value participating in democracy in their immediate environment as much as at a provincial or national level.
When looking back at that moment, which was barely a month after I turned 18, I still wonder why I really voted. Was it out of novelty or did I really want to make a change? I’d like to think the latter.

Fast-forward three years and I am running around like a headless chicken at a polling station at 6am looking for the infamous and now late Manto Tshabalala-Msimang. It’s the nation’s fourth national democratic elections. This time, I’m on the other end of a stick… I am attempting to cover the elections for a newspaper. It’s a very different picture to the sleepy scene of three years prior with its early morning queue that snaked across a brown, mowed field in one of Durban’s dodgiest neighbourhoods, Albert Park.
As Tshabalala-Msimang cuts across the queue, the crowd ululates and give her way to the front of the queue. Journalists crowd her, jostling for quotes and pictures. Minutes later, the same voters tell me they feel left behind and forgotten by politicians. I’m immediately struck by my failure to fathom the contradiction of voters’ behaviour. The conservative nature of Durban citizens rears its ugly head as they fail to question their leaders at the most poignant of times.

And now I stand at my own turning point. I’m back at school, well cadet school, and I am learning that I need to unlearn many bad habits picked up while previously reporting. I am standing in the middle of a very different scene, upon the instructions of my Training Editor. I am at a bookshop launch at the offices of IDASA (Institution for Democracy in South Africa) in Cape Town. It feels like a rather high-browed event; filled with society’s suit-wearing, cream of the crop; hobnobbing around glasses of wine and plates of cheese puffs and sausage rolls; discussing politics and books in an English I don’t understand. I am struck by the contrasting pictures of my experiences of democracy. Where are the bergies who should be eating this food? Where are the people that need to be reminded about practicing democracy at awareness campaigns like these? Will they be willing to pay for a thick new book filled with more statistics and complicated academic language? I highly doubt it.

Through the scenes of democracy in my life; seeing empty polling stations in the suburbs, the effects of party propaganda, confused voters, mixed messages and the elite nature of democracy awareness initiatives; all lead me to believe that this is just not working. For democracy awareness to work, I believe that it shouldn’t only happen every five years. It needs to be more accessible and easier to understand.

DVD review: Music: Jamiroquai – Live in Verona

I was attempting to funk dance in front of our TV. “Whatever, happened to Jamiroquai?” I ask my brother, the owner of the Live in Verona disc spinning in the DVD player- Does it really matter anyway?

British musician Jason Kay and his once popular band seem to have vanished after the release of his 2005 album Dynamite. Yet the tunes off their 2001 release Space Odyssey, which dominate the track list of Live in Verona, remain as some of their most popular work to date and are still widely listened to nine years later.

Released in the midst of their heyday, Live in Verona documented a very passionate and spirited performance filmed on rainy June evening in Italy. Although one would think this would add a romantic feel to the show, but fans at the Arena Di Verona appeared as wild a rugby crowd in the UK. I think this is part of the reason why I still love this DVD so much.

The front man himself obviously plays a big role in the success of this disc which was played a lot at home back then when the idea of music DVDs was still new and novel. Jason Kay’s on-stage theatrics, including a Native American chief-styled glass hat and regular crowd-flirting, makes the show highly watchable and difficult to forget.

As a whole, the band did not disappoint in terms of their musical performance. Enough variation is displayed when compared to the Space Odyssey recording, making the show appear unique. The music is very catchy and I still find myself humming it when ever I hear or think about this band. Some describe it as Jazz and others as funk but I think its wide appeal outside of those circles render it a little less easy to define. I believe that dance, electro, pop and even aboriginal influences are combined by this groundbreaking group to produce the once much-hyped package that is their music.


I don’t think it matters that Jamiroquai doesn’t have any new music. I’d rather listen to quality music from yester year than run the risk of being disappointed by new, unvaried music. I’m beginning to sound much older than I am, but this is the kind of music that my generation will remember associate memories with. Whatever reckless and drunk appearing Jason Kay maybe doing now doesn’t matter, we have his DVD to remember the fun he gave his fans.

Liposuction in Pink City

The sight of a buffet of finger food at a plastic sugery clinic in Green Point was one of the last things I'd ever expected to see, taste or smell. A large video screen transmits images from a nearby theatre room where a guinea pig is undergoing a new laser-assisted treatment that apparently makes recovery easier. The Egyptian surgeon comments that, "it's like playing the violin" as he swings his laser-tipped rod in an out of the women's stomach, while melted fat drips from the incision. Morbidly-fascinated observers around me chomp on cocktail sausages and keish while squishy sound effects blare from the speaker as the Doctor swings his fat-busting wand around the stomach. The combination makes me quesy.
Many of the people in the room appear to be experts on the matter as they praise the magician on the screen for the quick results he yields. Their faces seem tight and pinned, in a permanent state of glee. The surgeon's laser light shines through the thin skin as it hunts for fat to melt. He places the rod down on the woman and offers it to his colleague to try.
And then the vacuum comes out and sucks away unders the loose skin that appears suspended off the skeleton.
At this point the stomach looks like a deflating baloon.
The camera swings away and 400 mls of fat liquid is dispalyed in jug.
The women's frame begins to show. Hip bones that weren't there before appear from below.
The surgeon says she'll be very happy with the results on her right.
We are told that she could be back at work within a few days.
I wonder if they'll give her a DVD copy of the surgery?

To tweet or not to tweet...

and if I do am I a twit or tweeter or a twitterer? I once had this conversation with a friendly sub (what an oxymoron) back home. She insisted that I was "twit". You can't argue with them. I suspect they have secret fraternity meetings about style and convention in their spare time but let's not let my imagination run away with me.
I think the most shocking thing to me about the twitter phenomenon is that now even my 50-something-year-old father has an account He claims he has been enjoying keeping in touch with people who have similar interests to him around the world. What next Dad? Surprise me.
I'm a Mafikizolo (Johnny-come-lately) to twitter. Seriously. Compared to my facebook abilities, twitter is still very much a learning area for me. Having so much choice in terms of who to follow and who not to leaves me befuddled. Do I follow hundreds or thousands of people, or just a few interesting ones? And I'm finding the site rather difficult to navigate. Eyewitness News flood the page with updates, and searching and adding other people is becoming quite a mission. Let's hope I get it right before Natasha Joseph's next blogging seminar on Friday.
Speaking of Ms. Joseph, who reckons that only women can multitask, her Friday seminars are proving effective in shedding light on the gloomy darkness that is savvy SNS use. Well, minus the slow Internet and blocked sites, but that's not her fault.
The art of tweeting news stories appears to be strikingly similar to blurb and headline writing. I can barely tell the difference. I guess it's all about grabbing people's attention.
I'm pretty sure that if I get my tweeting skills right, I'd be able to effectively use it in the newsroom to be more er... efficient. You know, get information quicker etc.
But, there is still one major burning issue I have with this.
I feel Durban newsrooms are far more competitive and I've experienced encounters with people saying that you have to be careful about what you say in public forums about your work and stories because you not supposed to tip off your competition. They talk about things like exclusivity and scoops. Gives me the shudders. It's a tough issue, but I'll have to strike a balance.

The Facebook Toolbox

What a tool. Facebook is a such a tool! A pretty double-edged one though. After Friday afternoon's engaging seminar on Facebook, I have to admit that as rad as the social networking phenomenon is, I still have many unanswered questions about how to draw the distinct line in the cyber-sand... What can't you say on Facebook that can get you fired or in the dog box at home and how do you politely decline invites without offending people... including family members or senior colleagues?

Each of the groups examined different aspect of the Facebook phenomenon, with ourselves, the infamous News Hacks, dissecting it uses as a tool that journalists. This brought out varying opinions from working reporters, some who are adamant about the immediacy and convenience that it offers while others are of the opinion that exclusivity is lost due to social networking with stories flying "willy-nilly" to journalists.

The Maggie Websters, yes as in Maggie Webster the eternal gossip on Isidingo, gave us a brief history of Faceboook. Only seven years old and already the fifth most populous country on earth, well if it really existed anyway. The MW's told us the true fairytale of the American college student, Mark Zuckerberg who became a millionaire by a turning a small university social site called "Facemash" into the Goliath they are today. They also chronologically explained the changes and added features that happened over the years, although I have to admit, not all of them were pleasing. Can someone please tell me why the mobile site doesn't work some phones anymore?

The Supremes, like as in Diana Ross and the Supremes, unpacked matters further by telling us about how people use the platform to network. Although I feel a topic like this was self-explanatory, I mean who isn't on Facebook these days, the group brought ought interesting points about features I have previously overlooked such as playing games, observing market trends and even serving court notices in Australia. This along with the usual stalking of exes, following big break-ups, finding romance and remembering birthdays.

The Open Doors, had to research the hardest topic of all... Ethical Pitfalls: The misuse of Facebook by journalists. Although I am aware of instances were reporters have got into deeeep trouble for bad-mouthing their firm, these cases are apparently still rather rare. I guess we are a responsible breed these days. Although the group could not find an example of a reporter getting fired for misusing Facebook, they brought up very valid points about people relying only on Facebook as a source and not verifying facts. Natasha brought up a good point after this about not making bad comments about your company on Facebook, it could just get you fired. I also think that discussing one's stories in progress on your status or on someone's wall is downright daft. Use the messenger service, that's what it's there for.

Well, I'm hoping with a little more time and all this really good insight, I'll be able to draw the line, and maybe log back onto Facebook mobile.

The Republic of Cape Town

Upon landing at Cape Town International, a regional radio station's slogan perfectly summed up the vibe of this city... The Republic of Cape Town.
This place really feels like it might even be a Martian colony. OK, maybe that's a bit OTT but from its clueless drivers who seem to have no clue of K53 rules to its weird landscape (I mean the sea seems to be like everywhere), I'm pretty justified in saying this is largely different to life on the east coast.
I have to admit, I have been pleasantly surprised by other things. Things in town are relatively safe compared to back home, although I'm still in the habit of watching my back ALL THE TIME, and I can walk longer distances here without the worry of getting harassed for my phone.
Living in a commune away from my family for the first time is not as bad as I expected it to be. In fact, I hardly sleep due to long conversations with interesting housemates from as far away as Germany. There is always someone who wants to know something, or someone who wants to know where you from and how you think. However, housemates beware, I'm cooking tonight and it might not be pretty.
One thing that really made me feel at home was mass at St. George's on Sunday. Man, those people can sing. Seriously the best mass I've ever been to... ever. Freak, I'd move here just for that. Yet, there is so much more I want to see, just not right now with the large hole burnt in my pocket. Not just the obvious places like Table Mountain and Robben Island, but also lesser known places of interests. Just got to figure what those are but it will definitely involve the arts such as theatre and music.
The Media industry here is soooo different. The radio stations are so cool, I'd find way to listen to them back home. Waking up to Nigel Pierce's madness with his trusty minion "the Knob" on Good Hope, takes me back to my high school days of Mark Gillman and Danger Boy on 5FM. What a rad station. So in touch with their audience and clearly reflective of life in the Western Cape.
I also think the newsroom here is largely different to Durban newsrooms. Seminars like "the Brown Bag", allow reporters and editors to share views on important issues very candidly. I think that is just wonderful. Even outside of seminars, senior staff here are so approachable and engaging.
Well, here's hoping that life in CT brings more discoveries over the next few months.
Right now, my news nose has got some work to do.