CAPE TOWN: Don’t miss the eclipse tonight!

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There’s a total lunar eclipse visible over Cape Town (and much of South Africa) this evening, and it’s at a perfectly reasonable time to see, and then still get to bed ahead of your upcoming work week.

tl;dr (how lazy are you?!?)
Basically, to see it, you need to look at the moon (dur!) from 7:30pm.
And basically, the moon will be in the East.

A total lunar eclipse happens when the moon is in the shadow of the earth:

Here’s all the information you need for the timings of the various stages of the phenomenon from the Mother City:

Step 2 “, Rising, Moonrise, Rising” seems a bit repetitive, but I promise that I’ve checked and the timings are all accurate – and it could be spectacular. You don’t need any eye protection – it’s just moonlight – and it will be perfectly visible without any binoculars or similar (although take some along if you want to).

Last night would have been absolutely perfect, but it’s a bit cloudy and windy out today (I’m writing this at lunchtime). Still, as we know, weather stuff can and does change very quickly here, so it might all be ok, or it might be just rather frustrating. Remember that if it is the latter, you’re not alone…

So hold thumbs, cross fingers, pray to your given deity or just wrap up warmly, pop out at half seven and have a look.

Have fun out there! And please share this post so no-one misses out.

Interview/Photos

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Yeah. Dull title. But some of these images are incredible. It’s Dutch ‘tog Albert Dros being interviewed for the ‘creativity and culture’ site MyModernMet.com, all about his love for Greenland (which doesn’t belong to anyone orange, remember).

And while Albert waxes lyrical about the landscapes and the ‘eternal inspiration’ he finds in Greenland, it’s the photos that help you to understand exactly how beautiful the place is.

But as we know, there’s a whole lot more to these images than just turning up to somewhere beautiful and pressing a shutter button, it takes planning to make something so simple work so well:

Our photography workshops have something unique: our sailboats with red sails. They were introduced by a friend of mine, Daniel Kordan, many, many years ago. He came up with the idea of using red sails in contrast with the blue icebergs, an art concept that we now still use with great success. And no wonder, the photos are always spectacular.
We use our sailboats as scale elements for the icebergs. With the sailboat, you can really see how massive these icebergs are. Of course, I encourage everyone to not only photograph our red sailboats. Look at the spectacular beauty around, massive icebergs, but also closer details, the sled dogs, the atmosphere, the towns… I teach people to make a photo story with impact—the same as I do.

Dros’ ability and “his love of landscape photography and knack for visual storytelling” shines through in the article and on his social media, which I encourage you to visit.

I’ve never really considered Greenland as a destination, but it is apparently becoming more and more popular with tourists. Which is ok, as long as it is controlled. Because the beauty lies in the unspoiled wilderness, and we know that can be ruined rapidly by people trying to make a quick buck.

But let’s not let the ubiquitous downside detract from some absolutely stunning images, and the words of a guy who is clearly so passionate to share his knowledge and talent with others.

Budget decisions

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There are always tough decisions to make. [Anecdotal evidence says that] prices are rising far faster than the official inflation figures would like to suggest, and the lack of any recent significant precipitation (dam levels are only at 92.6% vs 103.4% this time last year) has left the magic money tree in the back garden sadly fruit-free.

Some things are easy. I can’t get around without diesel (in my car at least), so we’ll definitely have to have some of that. But I really don’t need a new hob this month. I mean – I do – but it can wait. And so it will.

Other choices are tighter though. Those things which aren’t quite essential, but don’t quite fall into the “nice-to-have” category either.

I ran out of collagen this morning. External collagen, that is. There’s still some in my body. And like it or not, there are studies which show that collagen intake (if it’s the right sort of collagen you are intaking) can help with joint health. And I need all the help I can get with that sort of thing (because of knee and ankle).

But collagen is expensive and although it helps, I can live without it.
Oh, and also falling into my inbox, there was this offer:

Which comes in at around the same price: if you squint a little.

And if your knee or ankle does hurt because of a lack of collagen intake, then some of this will either dull the pain or – at the very least – make you care a whole lot less about it.

So: protein powder or magic liquid? Which will it be?

There are always tough decisions to make.

Best song of the year (so far?)

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I know that musical taste is a personal thing, and that some people don’t even look (or listen?) to the music stuff on this blog, but it’s a chunk of my life, so I like to stick it on here. #MMIRIM, remember?

And this latest Baxter Dury track has got me hooked. (Previous Baxter Dury posts are here.)

New album next week, you say? Even more hooked.

Are we allowed to suggest Pet Shop Boys vibes? I think so. But then with that instantly recognisable gravelly voice over the top, that bitter, personal feel, and lyrics like:

An aisle seat on a cheap airline
Trying to get to Lithuania
I think of you to calm my nerves

it could only be Baxter.

Now if we can only get that dreadful stand-in 6Music DJ to pronounce the title correctly, we’ll be golden.

And there’s so much room for remixing here. Give the right people a bit of time and opportunity and I’m going to be pumping this 24/7 in the gym. Doing backflips on MDMA.

(That’s another lyric by the way.)
(And probably not a great idea, healthwise.)

Beyond the curtain

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I’m heading North this afternoon, out beyond the infamous Boerewors Curtain. That’s the line between the English-speaking South of Cape Town, and the Afrikaans-speaking North.

Cue the “Don’t forget your passport!” jokes.

But it is a bit like that.

It’s not the only Cape curtain though. Between the Southern Suburbs and the Deep South is the Lentil Curtain. And so we exist between the two: eating meat like our Northern neighbours and occasionally enjoying a salad like the hippies in the south.

But I digress. Often.

Today is about racehorsing, and Durbanville is the course in question. It’s very much the smaller of the two courses in Cape Town but it has a nice homely, personal feel to it, and it’s always a nice friendly place to go.

And after that, dinner at Signal Gun – on a school night, nogal – hopefully celebrating a winner (or two).