A quick mishmash

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OK – because of the impending Liverpool versus Chelsea game, together with a daughter that really didn’t want to go to sleep this evening, I’m left with approximately 8 minutes to blog.

Part One: Two bands pull out of Coke Zero Fest.

Bullet for my Valentine and The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, two of the headline acts for the Coca-Cola Zero Fest 2009, have pulled out at the last minute. Studio commitments to complete their new studio album and personnel changes were given as reasons for the late cancellations.

Two days notice. Utterly disgusting. Don’t bother coming back – I wasn’t looking forward to hearing your hits… erm… whatever those hits were. I can’t even be arsed to google.
If I’m honest, I was going to use your sets to queue for a burger with everyone else who was using your sets to queue for a burger.
Oh – but also thank you, because, in order to fulfill their promise of 12 hours of music on Easter Monday, the organisers have organised the real professional bands who everyone was wanting to see (Panic! at the Disco, Snow Patrol and Oasis) to deliver “extended performances”. Get in.

Part Two: Quota photo, as supplied from here, via here.


Alan Aubry – Down Memory Lane

The set features self protraits of Alan at various places (mainly) in and around Cape Town.
Very unusual and very cool. And somehow the remote cable only adds to it.

The one above is my favourite and only works because the horizon meets the frame at exactly halfway.

Infectious Parenting

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I am beginning to suspect that there may have been a degree of political interference in my health. That’s the only explanation I can think of for this trumped-up chest infection and the misery that goes with it.
I’m thinking of getting the NPA to decide if the sickness I’m suffering can be dropped as soon as possible, but I suspect that even if I did manage to convince them to do it, Helen Zille would immediately launch a civil infection against me.

A problem shared is a problem halved, so I passed on my viruses onto little K-pu – well, she seems to be doing fine with half my genes.
The results were dramatic. So far, several people have been covered in baby vomit. Fortunately, as a scientist, I choose to observe from a distance. Just out of range.
The initial decision to infect my daughter, together with the messy outcome has left me rather unpopular, except with the paediatrician and local pharmacies, who are bucking the trend of the recession in which South Africa doesn’t find itself.

So, ostracised to the bedroom where I can’t infect anyone, I’m left with choosing which UEFA champignons league quarter-final to watch, listening to Franz Ferdinand’s Lucid Dreams, (http://tr.im/franz) and eating fruit salad. Helfee, you see?

Later this week, I will be blogging about the upcoming CokeZeroFest at Lourensford, Somerset West. Watch this space.

Written on my Sony Ericsson Xperia X1. In bed.
And really getting a little fed up of it now, frankly.

You wouldn’t let it lie…

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I remain bedridden on doctor’s orders. One of the things about working with TB is that you don’t play with it when you’re not feeling 100%.
It tends to note your weakness and leaps into your respiratory tract, where it annoys the neighbours by holding late night parties. And killing you.

Being stuck here means that I have borne witness to just one source of reaction to the NPA decision to drop the charges against Zuma – the mobile internet, namely twitter and facebook. And what drama! What hysteria!
Why?
I have two answers: a mild case of shared Münchausen’s Syndrome and a media (and various political parties) which have caused certain sections of the population to believe that the moment Zuma comes to power, South Africa will fall, irretrievably into ruin.
No.

I do not understand what these people hope to achieve by spreading these sensational stories. Of course, everyone has their own agenda and we have an election just around the corner, but as with Trevor Mallach fake letter, let people vote based on FACTS, not on SPIN.
As I mentioned yesterday, the best thing for SA now would be to move on and let this issue lie. But of course, I understand that that option is not viable for some people and parties.
The irony is that they think that their political meddling in the justice system is somehow different from the political meddling in the justice system which prompted JZ’s legal eagles to meddle, possibly politically, in the justice system.

There was never going to be an easy way out of this, and no matter how aggrieved Helen Zille and the DA feel right now, they must realise that others would have felt equally outraged had the NPA decision gone the other way.

The only good thing about what happened today is that we briefly knew where we stood. A moment of clarity, if you will. There was the opportunity for closure, which has already been lost:

“@helenzille The decision to drop the charges against Zuma is irrational and unlawful. We will not stand back and let this happen. http://tiny.cc/P4jB6”

Not that I am blaming Helen Zille – she has her beliefs and she must stand up for them. Sadly, as this story continues to run, I see only more damage and more harm and hurt on the road ahead.

In times of turmoil, one must look for the simple pleasures in life. Better get back to sucking my Fisherman’s Friend, then. Certainly clears the passages and he seems to enjoy it too.

Written on my Sony Ericsson Xperia X1. In bed.
With a Fisherman’s Friend. Nice.

“Zuma Free”

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… with every R100 spent.

Not really, obviously. That would just be silly.

But an air of despondency and self-pity has settled over many of the more dramatic South Africans on the internet this morning. That’s because of this headline in today’s Sunday Times.

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JZ: Free

Unsurprisingly, I have a few remarks to make on this.
Firstly, that this has been coming for an awful long time. These people should really have got used to it by now. So quite where the shock and the outrage has come from, I’m not sure. Presumably, they’ve been living in a tent in the Karoo for the past 6 months. “Welcome back”, I guess.
Secondly, this is a report in the Sunday Times. Now, I know that it’s a bit of a pain, but I prefer to wait until the following week before passing comment on Sunday Times‘  stories. That’s just to give the editor time to print a retraction and an apology, together with the worthless assurance that it won’t happen again. Why weren’t they up in arms last week when iol.co.za reported: “Zuma Charges to be Dropped“?
Thirdly, the official NPA announcement (for what it’s worth) is due tomorrow at 10:30. If you want real pity, then Monday morning is always a good time to get it. Everyone’s in a bit of a sombre mood anyway and ready to join in a nice session of mutual commiseration.

It’s Monday and our President-in-waiting isn’t being charged with corruption. And it’s raining. And petrol went up last week. And the dog’s ill. And we lost the cricket. And Spar only had green bananas. And…

Finally, despite all these people wanting Zuma “to have his day in court”, they have already reached their verdict long ago. I mean, obviously, he’s guilty, isn’t he? Isn’t he? Why else would he be fighting at every possible stage to stop the case going to court? Proof of guilt, isn’t it?
Well, put yourself in JZ’s position for a moment. Let’s just suppose that you or I were charged with fraud or corruption or money-laundering or racketeering for a moment. Or even all four. And let’s say, just for the sake of this example, that you were innocent of those crimes. I don’t know about you, but I would be doing everything possible to get those charges against me dropped as soon as possible. I’d be taking every legal step I could. Wouldn’t you? Of course you would, particularly if you felt the system was primed to work against you.

With the NPA announcement tomorrow that they’re going to drop the charges (as we’re expecting), this matter could be finished. Nothing more to be said or done. Of course, unsatisfactory for some, yes. But you’re never going to please all of the people, all of the time. The justice system has not been raped, although many would like you to believe it has. But then, many of those people still believe that JZ is guilty of rape, despite his acquittal three years ago. So what is their word worth, anyway?

There was never going to be an easy way out of this mess. But if South Africa is ever going to move forward, there had to be some route taken. Much like petulant football players chasing the referee after a dodgy offside decision, moaning about it is futile. There will be no change of mind, no disallowed goal; you are merely prolonging the story for no real reason, save the detriment of the country – which helps no-one.  

Time to move on, SA.

You join me in bed

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Nothing from me here today, save for this polite notice informing you of this fact.

This is due entirely to the fact that I’m feeling pretty crap and have holed up in bed with only OTC medication and a load of live sporting action for company.
So yes, it could be worse, but equally it could be a whole lot better too.

Written on my Sony Ericsson Xperia X1. In bed.
Mildly bored.