Weekend report-back
The weekend didn't get off to an especially good start on Friday after a long week, a stressful drive home and then having to spend a hefty chunk of the evening speed-viewing "quality" DVDs like AVP: Alien Vs Predator and X-Men: The Last Stand, looking for specific footage for a work task. Until I got the hug I needed I felt pretty damn tearful.
It really is time for a relaxing holiday that takes me far away from my day-to-day routine. I can't believe we're robbed of a much-needed public holiday this month as it falls on this coming weekend. Bah.
Anyway, on Saturday morning I had some shopping to take care of. During the trip to the mall I was overwhelmed by the choice of make-up bases, grumbled at the cost of lipstick (I clearly haven't bought make-up in a while!) and was horrified at the fashion trends heading our way for Winter. All I wanted was some nice going-out tops but apparently this year women are either going to looks like punk rockers, or a weird suit-and-cravat cross between Margaret Thatcher and Austin Powers. Yeesh. And just when will the Goddamn skinny jeans trend end? Us non-anorexics would like to wear a nicely designed, fashionable pair of jeans again.
On Saturday afternoon I saw Watchmen again at IMAX. Viewing the film a second time a few new things jumped out at me, the chief of these being that the intense, visceral violence reminded me a lot of Kill Bill Volume 1, especially the opening sequence when the Bride takes out soccer mom Vernita Green. Also, I was bemoaning the loss of the "Things never change" line from the film's conclusion in my review, but it turns out it actually is there. Unfortunately Laurie says it and not Dr Manhattan, which explains why I missed it and why it just doesn't have the same ominous power.
Out of interest, you can read a fascinating analysis of Watchmen's opening credits here.
On Saturday evening I attended the 12th Annual Time of the Writer Festival at the University. I was amazed just how popular the event was, with the entire Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre packed with people. Of course there were a lot of highbrow intellectuals and wannabe highbrow intellectuals there, as demonstrated by some of the questions asked during the Q&A portion of the first session - devoted to 2 young South African authors who focus on gender issues within African culture. The experience just reminded me that a little exposure to academia and academic life goes a long way!
After the interval it was time for legendary South African political commentators, columnist Max du Preez and cartoonist Zapiro to talk about their experiences doing their job in the new South Africa. Their talks were highly insightful and frequently amusing. The only sour note of the evening was when it came time for questions from the audience and a nutty old AIDS denialist got hold of the microphone and started pushing his ridiculous agenda.
Anyway, after the talk we headed down to the stage to ask Zapiro a question he didn't have enough time to answer - namely how he's using new media to reach younger South Africans as traditional formats like magazines and newspapers are losing readership. And apart from an official site, and a growing Facebook group, there's also a Spitting Image-type satirical TV show, also done with puppets, called Z News. Unfortunately though, the SABC is refusing to air it.
Frankly I was a bit bummed we didn't take a copy of Zapiro's latest book to the Festival because he's a really nice guy who would have signed it without a problem.
Sunday was exceptionally chilled. The most constructive thing the bf and I did all day, apart from making American flapjacks for breakfast, and muffins for the week ahead, was sitting outside in the beautiful weather and painting miniatures. The bf was working on his Warhammer starter kit of spiders and goblins, and I was carrying on with the figurines from my Runebound boardgame. Considering I've had the game for over 2 years now, it is perhaps time to finish painting the remaining heroes.
In the evening we watched the MNET Sunday evening movie, the tediously slow In The Valley of Elah. This war drama, based on a true story, sees a retired military investigator (Tommy Lee Jones) teaming up with a small town cop (Charlize Theron) to look into the disappearance of his soldier son, newly returned from Iraq. Performances were very good but I'm not an especially big fan of movies that depict soldiers as easily influenced lemmings who, without exception, turn to cruelty and violence as a coping method during war. Give me a break...
It really is time for a relaxing holiday that takes me far away from my day-to-day routine. I can't believe we're robbed of a much-needed public holiday this month as it falls on this coming weekend. Bah.
Anyway, on Saturday morning I had some shopping to take care of. During the trip to the mall I was overwhelmed by the choice of make-up bases, grumbled at the cost of lipstick (I clearly haven't bought make-up in a while!) and was horrified at the fashion trends heading our way for Winter. All I wanted was some nice going-out tops but apparently this year women are either going to looks like punk rockers, or a weird suit-and-cravat cross between Margaret Thatcher and Austin Powers. Yeesh. And just when will the Goddamn skinny jeans trend end? Us non-anorexics would like to wear a nicely designed, fashionable pair of jeans again.
On Saturday afternoon I saw Watchmen again at IMAX. Viewing the film a second time a few new things jumped out at me, the chief of these being that the intense, visceral violence reminded me a lot of Kill Bill Volume 1, especially the opening sequence when the Bride takes out soccer mom Vernita Green. Also, I was bemoaning the loss of the "Things never change" line from the film's conclusion in my review, but it turns out it actually is there. Unfortunately Laurie says it and not Dr Manhattan, which explains why I missed it and why it just doesn't have the same ominous power.
Out of interest, you can read a fascinating analysis of Watchmen's opening credits here.
On Saturday evening I attended the 12th Annual Time of the Writer Festival at the University. I was amazed just how popular the event was, with the entire Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre packed with people. Of course there were a lot of highbrow intellectuals and wannabe highbrow intellectuals there, as demonstrated by some of the questions asked during the Q&A portion of the first session - devoted to 2 young South African authors who focus on gender issues within African culture. The experience just reminded me that a little exposure to academia and academic life goes a long way!
After the interval it was time for legendary South African political commentators, columnist Max du Preez and cartoonist Zapiro to talk about their experiences doing their job in the new South Africa. Their talks were highly insightful and frequently amusing. The only sour note of the evening was when it came time for questions from the audience and a nutty old AIDS denialist got hold of the microphone and started pushing his ridiculous agenda.
Anyway, after the talk we headed down to the stage to ask Zapiro a question he didn't have enough time to answer - namely how he's using new media to reach younger South Africans as traditional formats like magazines and newspapers are losing readership. And apart from an official site, and a growing Facebook group, there's also a Spitting Image-type satirical TV show, also done with puppets, called Z News. Unfortunately though, the SABC is refusing to air it.
Frankly I was a bit bummed we didn't take a copy of Zapiro's latest book to the Festival because he's a really nice guy who would have signed it without a problem.
Sunday was exceptionally chilled. The most constructive thing the bf and I did all day, apart from making American flapjacks for breakfast, and muffins for the week ahead, was sitting outside in the beautiful weather and painting miniatures. The bf was working on his Warhammer starter kit of spiders and goblins, and I was carrying on with the figurines from my Runebound boardgame. Considering I've had the game for over 2 years now, it is perhaps time to finish painting the remaining heroes.
In the evening we watched the MNET Sunday evening movie, the tediously slow In The Valley of Elah. This war drama, based on a true story, sees a retired military investigator (Tommy Lee Jones) teaming up with a small town cop (Charlize Theron) to look into the disappearance of his soldier son, newly returned from Iraq. Performances were very good but I'm not an especially big fan of movies that depict soldiers as easily influenced lemmings who, without exception, turn to cruelty and violence as a coping method during war. Give me a break...
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