Yes we can

I think that if the FIFA World Cup 2010 did nothing else, it did unify South Africans more and ignited a sense of all fighting for the same cause. I just remember the hosting of a rugby match (a traditionally more white, Afrikaner sport) on the 22nd of May 2010 between the Blue Bulls ( from Pretoria) and the Crusaders ( from New Zealand) at Orlando Stadium, in Soweto ( it stands for South Western Township). Instead of focussing on the influx of white people into a black township and turning it into some racial debate, the people of Soweto embraced  the visitors and it became a party of fans decked out in blue and drinking Black Label ( a local beer) in shebeens. Friends who went told me that the locals invited them into their homes and that it really felt like a moment of integration and friendship. Here is a slide-show of photographs taken on the day, and here a link to a video of a journalist (?) travelling with the Bulls' greatest fan.

Now, more than a year later, Coca Cola has launched a series of advertisements and a site, reasonstobelieve, that also speak to the unifying character of the World Cup and to a sense of optimism regarding South Africa's future. Many people feel it is unsafe and emigrate elsewhere, and although I often also feel the same way, there is still a sense of loyalty to this country because it is home and it has formed my opinions to be more accepting and more conscious of other people's struggles.

I know Coke is appealing to our emotions and it is all a bit clichéd what with the children singing about a "brand new day", but I still think it is a nice ad to see in between those for burglar bars, supermarket discounts and weight-loss pills.

Reasons To Believe South Africa 1 from CocaColaSA on Vimeo.

There are three different versions, if you like the ad check them out on Coca Cola SA's Vimeo page ( the link is under the video).

Vir Schoemanstraatslette en ander inwoners *

My friend Berdene features in the following videos, which are part of Webfest's finalists.
Vote for her if you like it:

 - Car Guarded

 - Devil in a Fishtank

The first year I was studying here I was constantly comparing the city to the one's I had lived in in Europe. But one must realize that Pretoria is far removed from the socio-cultural activities that happen in big metropolitan cities and that here, there are different things to experience. You cannot hope to relive Paris in Pretoria. But you can embrace what this city is trying to offer.

As already blogged about, the Pretoria Stadstapper Fotoklap ( read more here and here), aims to experience different neighbourhoods and to explore them with their cameras.

Also, Capital Arts is another venture to bring art back into the city.
Recently, they hosted the Capital Arts in the Park, where one could get together at Magnolia Dell park and look at the exhibited pieces while enjoying a soft serve. Although I did not appreciate any of the art that much, I did enjoy going somewhere a little different and watching all the people.

At Magnolia Dell , October 2011

There is even a blog dedicated to happenings in Pretoria: IlovePretoria.

What else is there to do here? Ah yes, Park Acoustics.

I know there is a lot more going on in the city that I am not aware of, and that if one resists the urge to constantly compare this city to other capitals in the world, one will find that there is still a lot to do here other than sitting at home watching the rugby, having a braai or washing one's car.






* for Schoemanstreetsluts and other residents

The study of the non-existent

We are doing Middlemarch in English, which must be the thickest book I haven't read. During the class, the lecturer kept asking questions about the book and the various characters' behaviour and reactions to certain events, and eventually some people actually responded.

In most of my classes, people do not say anything. I think it is out of fear of saying something silly and being judged for it. Or being afraid of  mispronouncing a word in a foreign language. Or of getting the answer wrong. The other day I had to give a tutor class and the most irritating part is when you have about 80 people staring at you when you have asked them a question. And nothing serious like " What is art?", no, no, I went for "Can you hear me?"

The response? Silence. Not a whisper. And then as soon as I continued explaining, they kept murmuring. The sheep.

So I know how my lecturer must feel when she asks a question and everyone just stares blankly back, and I know that that minute of uncomfortable shuffling on the chairs and people looking at their notes is actually stupid because you WANT people to say something, anything.

But my point is that what I am studying actually does not exist. All of it is words in books on shelves in libraries or bedrooms. I am studying the non-existent, the created and the pixellated. Everything I am supposed to analyse is a collection of interpretations, of personal associations, of imagined ideas that I read into collections of words and images.

It is quite fascinating: I am studying how to imagine a world, differently.

I'll think about you for $1.

I stumbled onto this:

Thinking About You for One Minute $1 


You will be thought of for one minute. An e-mail will be sent to you when the thinking starts and when it ends. If you wish, you may send details about yourself, but it is not necessary. 


I wonder if anyone ever takes him up on his offer. And how does one know if he really thought about you? 
What does an email really confirm? 


How much money do you think people could make if they were paid for thinking about others. Perhaps that is an idea for charity: merely by thinking about the suffering in the world, some signal would be sent to some database where for every thought sponsors would donate a specific amount of money. That would be cool: saving the world one thought at a time.

It would make one more aware of the different disasters as well. Perhaps the charity itself would be quite a failure: what if everyone thinks only about Japan and puppies, and forgets that rhinos are being slaughtered and Pakistanis are drowning in continuous floods. And what if no one wants to think of the bad? Not everyone can be an emokid. Moreover, they only think of their own suffering. And in order to count the thoughts, a thought-police would have to be established. Hello 1984. So perhaps not.

Strange how with so much to be depressed about, our brain is still wired for optimism.
Check out the Time article here.



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