Point & Shoot

Another lighthouse pic, this one illustrating the fact that sometimes, you just need to point and shoot to get a half decent photo:

Doubtless, I could have done better (perhaps even achieving the dizzy new heights of a ‘full-decent’ photo) with a little more time and a little more effort, but I didn’t have the former and I had limited inclination for the latter, so this will have to do.
Honestly, it’s got a lighthouse and a sunset in it. What more do you want? Herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically across the plain? Quit your whining.

Voyage Voyage

Belated thanks to J.M. Rivat and D. Dubois for this absolute gem from 1987.

Glisse tes ailes sous le tapis du vent. I know I will be.

Claudie Fritsch-Mentrop (the singer) is 61 years old and has just released an album “Noun”, described thus:

An album of electronic music, experimental and uncompromising, 11 songs buttressed with ancient poetry and ethnic melodies.

Quite. And as some sort of demonstration of her renaissance, here’s L’or du Rhin, with mixed shawm and light sabers from 1:30:

…and unless I’m very much mistaken, that’s Antoine Aureche on the lute.

Pair All The Things!

After trying the exquisite pairing menu at Gabrielskloof (covered adequately, if not exhaustively here) last week, I’m suddenly the world expert in pairing things.
So far, I have paired a steak and some chips – which may seem rather unoriginal, but was nevertheless entirely successful – and then, in a fit of wild and daring experimentation over the weekend, I paired some Black Label with some more Black Label. Repeatedly.
It went surprisingly well. As far as I can remember, anyway.

Then, last night, the pièce de résistance as I paired some Lindt and Sprungli Chili Chocolate with some Louiesenhof Marbonne Brandy.
At first sight, this might appear to some to be nothing more than a thinly-veiled excuse to eat chocolate and drink brandy, and those individuals wouldn’t actually be far wrong. But what an unexpected and serendipitous revelation.
Suddenly, the steak and chips thing and the Black Label and Black Label thing paled into near insignificance.

This was unequivocally my third and best pairing to date. The tastes complimented each other perfectly, mingling pleasantly before producing something almost akin to a citrus burst upon my palate. I’m no culinary expert, but I’d hazard a rough guess that it was the mixture of chocolate and brandy which gave this result, based mainly on them being the only two things present on or near my palate at that particular moment.

Approaching this scientifically, I have decided to further pursue this research by testing the blend again this weekend: reproducibility being the cornerstone of any solid scientific result. It’s probably also worth checking out the components individually (especially the brandy) as well, right?

This “pairing” thing may well become a recurring theme on the blog. After all, food is ever so cool right now. Sadly though, the chili chocolate and really good brandy thing was just so good that there’s part of me that thinks that I’ve probably peaked too early (again) and future pairings just won’t match up to this one.

I will keep looking though.

Rain approaching

Cape Town City Council has forewarned of some nasty weather approaching this evening and through tomorrow, including heavy rain and gale force winds.

Lovely.

Of course, winter is on its way and we need to accept that winter in the Cape of Storms brings… well… storms. This incoming cold front will be the first of many in the coming months, but because it’s the first, the City has reminded residents of a few safety tips for dealing with the inclement weather:

Residents can help mitigate the potential impact by:

  • staying away from beachfront areas
  • maintaining a safe following distances on the roads
  • ensuring that the drainage systems on their properties are working properly
  • raising the floor level of their homes to minimise the risk of flooding

Yes, some are easier to do than others. For example, if you live on the beachfront, you’re going to struggle with that first one. However, if you live on the beachfront in a beachfront apartment, you’re already sorted for the fourth one, so it’s all swings and roundabouts really, isn’t it?

Windguru is predicting about 40mm of rain for the next 24 hours (which our meteorological expert describes as “quite a bit”), and winds of about 60kph (“properly breezy”), so I think we’re all a little better informed now.
And, after the near 30ºC highs of yesterday, we’re looking at 15ºC for tomorrow.

Saturday looks grey and damp, before a return to more pleasant weather on Sunday, meaning that you can head back to the beachfront and lower your floors again.

Happy days.

Note: The City’s 107 Public Emergency Call centre can be accessed by dialing 107 from a Telkom line or 021 480 7700 from a cell phone.

But… How…?

As I write, the results from yesterday’s national and provincial elections are beginning to come through. “It’s early days”, as every TV and radio commentator has been repeatedly telling us, but at the present time, it’s all “as you were”, with the ANC comfortably holding the country and Gauteng, and the DA strengthening its position in the Western Cape.
No surprises with those first two, but frankly, I’m left utterly bewildered by the ANC’s disappointing showing locally. Not because their record on service delivery elsewhere is particularly good (it’s not) or because the stats show that the DA isn’t doing a relatively good job of running the Western Cape (they are), but because the DA never released anything quite like this ANC election ad:

Yes. Quite.

I know what you’re thinking: that Marius Fransman, right? Crappy politician, but brilliantly awkward dancer.

Suddenly, it’s no wonder he ignored all logic and reason when casting his vote yesterday:

“I can safely say now, we will, in this election, be trashing the Democratic Alliance in the rural communities… we will push up our vote in the black communities, and you’re going to have a big split vote in the coloured community… with that, we will definitely take the Western Cape this time around.”

HE KNEW ABOUT THIS VIDEO!!!!!1!

Marius, much like you are now, (assuming you made it through the entire thing unscathed) (which is unlikely), is completely flabbergasted that the ANC hasn’t swept to power in the Cape solely on the back of this astonishing musical performance. Indeed, the issue seems to be only that the ANC didn’t get enough people to see this video ahead of voting day. Because surely if they had done, we’d all be voting ANC. Even if we weren’t actually allowed to vote. Even if there wasn’t an election.
Yep, I’ve seen that video and now I want to go and vote ANC in the Western Cape, all day, every day. For year after confusing year, I’ve been wondering why I was here; why any of us are here. What is the purpose of life?

Well, having seen that video, now I know: it’s to vote ANC in the Western Cape.
Resistance is futile. Especially once you hear that cheeky little Orkees nod to Afrikaner culture at 3:11.

Mmm. Inclusive…

Helen Zille’s plans for DA rule in 2019 will now simply have become a pipe dream. Once this goes viral (which it surely will after being featured here), it’s Game Over for the DA. And for everyone else, too. EFF off. ACDP hee hee.
In fact, if this four and quarter minute euphonious extravaganza gets viewed beyond the borders of South Africa, I’d not be surprised to see the ANC achieving world domination within the next few weeks. It really is that good.

Vote ANC in the Western Cape!
Because if you don’t, they’re going to give us more kak like this next time…