Author: 6000

Hell(o) on Earth

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It appears that ever-expanding and actually fairly decent local budget airline FlySafair have recently rebranded, with a pink heart in a pink circle.

Their website favicon has the new logo on it:

…even if you have to look very carefully to see it on the actual pages:

But ok, what do I know about branding and advertising and marketing and so on. I’m just the customer.

But even now knowing about the rebrand, I still don’t think this ad works:

OK, OK. I can see it as “HELLO” now, but the thinner line on (and the heart within) the “O” made my brain think that it wasn’t actually part of the word “HELLO” at all. I simply read “HELL”, which I’m pretty sure wasn’t what they were going for, and which I have heard on very good authority that Victoria Falls isn’t.

HELL ZIM & ZAMBIA!

Note also the price difference between Livingstone Airport (actually called the Harry Mwanga Nkumbula International Airport) in Zambia and the Victoria Falls Airport in Zimbabwe. They’re only 35km apart, but Zim is clearly missing out on some handy extra tax revenue there: although there’s likely to be some sort of R600 passenger processing fee payable in dollars – cash only, thank you – when you get there).

But I digress – often. Branding and Marketing Wizards: please use fonts and logos more carefully in future. Or simply ask me if everything looks ok before you flight it (no pun intended) and I’ll give you a quick yes or no for a very reasonable fee (payable in dollars: cash only, thank you).

Art

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A pretty rubbish day. Weather, footy, jobs.

And so an invite to a local gallery was a very welcome distraction.

This is the work of local artist Andrew Putter, and his Flowers Of The Cape Peninsula, Volume I, and the above is Nerine sarniensis and Ladybeetle and Moth, 2023.

Only 12 works on show, but a lovely atmosphere and some beautiful striking colours. Just like the actual Cape flowers.

So this was good, but the rest really wasn’t, and I look forward to a better day tomorrow.

December

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It doesn’t feel very Christmassy here just yet (does it ever though?), but over in the UK, there’s clearly a feeling of festivity in the air. Expressed as only the Brits can:

I saw a recipe for Glühbeer the other day, which seems like an unnecessary but interesting spin-off. But with the temperature in the mid-20s or higher all day every day here, it just doesn’t work in December.

I’ll mull it over and set a reminder for June.

Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?

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Ah yes, the 1993 album from The Cranberries, everybody’s second favourite band: Linger, Dreams etc.

But also no. I’m thinking about Spotify Wrapped, which has taken over the internet for the last 24 hours. And while it might be the most important thing happening in the world at the moment, it does make a change from the most important things happening in the world at the moment.

Which is great.

Here’s mine:

1,938 songs.
813 artists.
53 genres.

Top Genres: Permanent Wave (I had to look that up):

Permanent Wave Music is a genre of music that has been popular in the United States since the early 1980s. It is characterized by a heavy reliance on synthesizers and drum machines, as well as a strong emphasis on melody and rhythm. It often combines elements of pop, funk, and rock music.

Yeah, ok. Fair enough. Then Chamber Pop(?), Electronica, Art Pop(??) and Manchester indie. Mad for it.

And this:

Muse was a surprise, even given this. But in that post, I did say I’d probably give it a couple of months and then give up on them again, and that’s exactly what happened:

Top song, Turmoil from The Lathums; again surprising (and a bit awkward), given this, where I compared the song to Glenn Medeiros’ 1988 hit Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love For You.

And the rest of my Top 5 were all from Sigur Rós. That wasn’t surprising at all.

Onward and upward. I listened to more Spotify this year than any previous year, but I still think I listened to more 6Music than Spotify. By a country mile.

I can’t wait for my 6Music Wrapped. When does that happen again?

Rebuilt by drones – but not

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Ah… Whitby Abbey. It’s been a while.

With a history dating back to the seventh century, the ruins have overlooked Whitby Harbour since the time of Henry VIII. And it’s a very popular spot for ‘toggers.

You can see why.

But it’s been ruined for centuries, so why not reconstruct it?

WITH DRONES!

It looks amazing. But… it’s not right. It would never have had a steeple. Steeples came around far too late to be on this building. And after a bit of digging, yes: this is just a computer animation as an example of what the company involved says that its drones can do, not what they have done.

Still. Go and have a look at what they have done: here.

Absolutely incredible.