is anyone out there...?

so it's been me on this blog. me?
where is everyone? did the internet connection in south africa suddenly just die?
come on people!

okay.. this could be because I am procrastinating big time. i admit. I'll give a little, and i mean just a little bit of rope for this fact.

I, Talya chalef, am meant to be writing a budget. ugh, budgets.. and applications and money and more money. Why can't people just see that experimental artsy shit is worth funding and just throw their currency at me? It doesn't need to be dollars or australian dollars. it can be pounds, euros or any other. I'm partial to pounds but won't be too fussed either way.

So I have an exciting residency of my work in July. whooop whooop. I get to have a season and redevelop my previous work "in other words". it's not out there" in the "announced world" just yet, so i can't go and say it in full (I.e. details of venue etc etc) -but I'm kind of saying it, kind of... :-)

- greggles, if you didn't get to see it last time, here's your chance.

And because of this..we're going full tilt on the funding drive to take us over to Argentina in October. Yes, my birthday month. Think I'm keen to be in a salsa club with sexy Latino men when I turn the big 3 0

Ok people, that's enough rambling for now.

I'm having a party this Saturday in Melbourne at my house. If you feel so inclined, come along!
xxx

Macgyver is making a comeback!!!!!

i wrote to him when i was six. he didn't reply....

the giant mosquito is back in town

Am i getting old, or just less tolerant?

What the fuck is up with Twitter? Seriously, is that the best new 'social media' phenomenon we can manage? Their angle is that they 'keep you connected in real time'. Why do i need to be connected in real time TEXT? Why don't i just phone the person i need to be connected to? Oh right! So they dont mean stay connected with my friends, they mean stay connected like a pop-consuming sycophantic leech to the arse of my favourite pop star? What a load of kak. 

I know this little rant against Twitter is going to do nothing to its popularity (despite me being a techological tastemaker and futurist of note). In fact, I'm sure someone said the same thing about text messaging, and look at them now, little packets of communicative wonder, they've spawned their own retarded language. It wud b gud to spk like a 5 yr old, but i'm 2 old for that 2 i reckon. 

The thing is, i think i get why Twitter is so popular. I'm sure that a fair proportion of subscribers use it for following the bowel movements and marketing plugs of their favourite stars, and i'm also pretty sure that people use it as a legitimate means of keeping in contact with news items, or new products or interesting tidbits that their friends might post up, but i am willing to bet my favourite t-shirt that the majority of users just like the idea of broadcasting their voice into the ether. It like a handjob for the ego. Its like a Facebook status bar. It does for your intelligence what a comb-over does for your appearance. Maybe your ego swells a little when you read your tweets back to yourself, but look at yourself in the mirror again... your witticisms aren't very clever, and truth be told, nobody gives a fuck, because they're all too busy tweeting at each other with their own hackneyed insights.

A few twitter facts :

• Its old (like years old)
• Nobody gives a fuck that you enjoyed Slumdog Millionaire
• It has been making headline news in Arse-stralia because a clever blogger has been using it to parody a right wing politician, intent on keeping the internet in Australia free of anything that might pollute the mind of its pure Christian youth.
• Its not even 1 zillionth as cool as icanhascheezburger as an internet phenomenon (not quite a meme), but hopefully it dies a lot faster

i can't take the credit - tari's sending me these links -but they're cool!!!

Sheep Art in Wales

Congrats to Mez and Lara!

Happy marriage ladies. We all had a great paahty, and we all wish you the very very best for the rest.

Out in May, in probably very few good book stores

melbourne's - The Herd

they're like melbourne's moodphase five!

not a new one - but i like it :-)

I finally agree with a labour union

Because I dislike SAA more than I dislike greasy union bosses.

SAA board should be fired - union

In other news, the Proteeee-is are handing the Arsetraaaaiyyins asses to them. YES PLEASE.

Zuma vs. Mbeki, round 57

Ok ok so it's looking increasingly likely that Zuma's charges will be dropped. We kind of always knew that would happen; the chances sky-rocketed after his court date was pushed beyond election time. There's no way the ANC would ever let a sitting state president stand trial for graft.

But that's not the interesting part. The interesting part is the media's half-baked guesswork as to why the charges will be dropped (apart from the rather non-specific meta-reason above). The M&G claims, in a story entitled "What Zuma told the NPA," that charges against Zuma ought to be dropped beacuse Zuma has evidence that could bring down lots of others. His principal target is of course Comrade Thabs. If I were a fearless state prosecutor able to operate beyond the reach of grimy politicians, I would not drop charges against Accused Number 1 just because he shows me there should be Accussed Numbers 2-48 on the charge sheet (which we all knew should have been the case from the start).

Would you?

Dans

My current favourite dance track:


Solid Gold - The Golden Filter from golden filter on Vimeo.

I have a thing for breathy sexytime vocals and obvious synthesiser sounds.

The Night of Burning Blazes

Woke up to call from Dan at 01h45 this morning informing me that the mountain was ablaze... Couldn't believe my eyes - those firefighters had their work cut out for them, still amazed to see the vredehoek towers standing in the morning light. Was a very eerie sight with a bank of cloud hanging over the mountain and the sky all orange in the night.

More pics at http://www.news24.com/News24/Gallery/Home/0,,galleries-1-7438,00.html

Hello Sailor!

A few good Women (& 1 token gay boy)

Rubber Duckies floating in blue water

Sitting on the deck Champagne

Top Gun soundtrack

Boob cupcakes

Hello Sailor panties

Lube anyone?

Robbie who can't be photographed as he has a day job at a big SA Bank

Hot Dogs

Champagne

Passed out naked girl in my bed. Where must I sleep?

Fuzzy head

Sticky table tops

Sunday sleep

Elections

Well the electioneering is in full gear, and is trully uninspired on all fronts. But for those of you living abroad, you may be interested to hear that the ConCourt has ruled that you'll be able to vote in the upcoming elections if you have registered to vote in any previous election, and you inform the chief electoral officer by March 27. Not sure how you are supposed to inform them, but best bet to phone the embassy. The KISS party is still on the register, so it shouldn't be a difficult choice.

Happy Birthday Kenjamin!

Hope its a rad year.

Recommendations

I was reading a music blog the other day when i came across this tasty Amazon marketing ploy that lists your artists favourite artists. Naturally, i tracked down Tunde Adebimpe's (from TV on the Radio) entry, as i am a shameless whore to pop culture, and I MUST own EVERYTHING ever touched by ANYONE from TVOTR. What? he thinks Deerhoof are the greatest band in the world??? Well I had better find their album then, hadn't I? Its a pretty obscure band, and a pretty obscure album and wasn't nearly as easy to get hold of as i had expected, and to be honest, i wasn't nearly as entertaining as i had hoped. I mean, its not bad, but the shrieking J-pop vocals are a bit much after a while, and frankly, they are not a patch on TVOTR. The punchy guitar work is pretty cool though, and its worth a listen, just don't spend sleepless nights cursing yourself for not even having heard about the band that Tunde Adebimpe from TV on the Radio thinks is the best band in the world.

I rarely take music recommendations from other people anyway, because i usually find the music tainted by my view of the person that recommended it (shallow, i know). That's not a problem if i really like the person who recommended it and respect their taste in music, but if i know they know dick about music and own even one of the 'Now that's what i call music' tapes, then I'll only be disappointed, even if the music they are recommending is really good.


ANYWAY, this whole situation reminded me of a comment DJ Eli made on his blog a few months back about a Tears for Fears album that he reckoned was 'flawless'. Yeah, i laughed too, until i managed to pick up a copy (mint condition - $8!!) a few weeks back, and gave it a listen. It's awesome. Perhaps not flawless, but definitely worth owning in whatever format you can get it. That's a recommendation from me, but don't let your dislike of my changeable and snobbish views on music influence your decision to listen to (and love) the The Hurting by Tears for Fears.

Sorry for all the videos, but this one couldnt go unposted

From the TTL Blog - telling it like it is...

We all make mistakes Rob

a visit to pinelands

i've written a sphiel on my blog..

Best song out right now, in my opinion.

The rest of the album is a yawnfest, but i reckon this song is a CRACKAH! Of course Animal Collective includes Panda Bear, so Pitchfork have been creaming their shorts over this for a while. I wonder how much Roland paid for that product placement?



Come on Stormers! Moer those Blou Bulle!

cape town is just cool

leaving on monday... sad.

Book Review: In a Different Time

As I am one of the few girls who do not belong to a book club (I am trying to boycott book clubs and start a much trendier knitting club ;) - I thought I would do a book review on the blog. Besides I think this book will appeal to you politically minded boys too. It was recommended to me by Paula - mainly because she kept having to leave things early - she had to get back to the next chapter to find out what was happening to the Delmas four. I really enjoyed this book and since we were thaughts such a KAK version of SA history in school - I am now on a mission to educate myself of what happened in SA from the 1940's onwards. So scary that this happened in our lifetime and the distorted public perceptions of what was really happening. I want to go back to school to redo history (kids learn such cool stuff now!) - check out this site if you have any more SA history questions - http://www.sahistory.org.za/

Description: In a Different Time is set in a South Africa gripped by unrest and political tension, when the ANC was in exile and repression at its height. It tells the story of four young South Africans who, in 1987, embark on a mission that will ultimately take them to Death Row. Jabu Masina, Ting Ting Masango, Neo Potsane and Joseph Makhura form a highly trained and experienced assassination squad reporting directly to Chris Hani, commander of Mkonto we Sizwe (MK, the anti-apartheid resistance movement). The narrative details their infiltration into the country, their operations, arrest and subsequent trial – showing these men to be the foot soldiers who have sacrificed everything. As their trial unfolds, with their attorney fighting againsts impossible odds to save them from the gallows, so too does the story of their own lives and the choices they make. Into this storyline Peter Harris, the attorney to the four and narrator of the book, weaves another strand of narrative: the construction of a bomb and its deadly journey towards its target. The result is a tale of bizarre coincidence and tragedy, a riveting courtroom drama, and a real-life political thriller that tells of the acts people will commit to preserve the status quo, and the extraordinary lengths to which people go in order to fight for what they believe.

Salman and me, we's TIGHT!

Salman Rushide slams Slumbum Millibum, and tells it like it is here.

In other news... I'm moving! This might not seem like huge news for those that dont have to find accomodation in the retarded Sydney real estate market, but to find an ok place for a price that doesnt cripple is something of an achievement. I have a garden now, so i can finally have a braai! SHITYEAH!

Check out my charming cottage here (it loooks better in person). Oh, and the only way we managed to secure a lease was by offering the blood sucking leeches, AHEM, real estate agents, more than the advertised price. If it keeps people out of Sydney, bring on the recession I say.

Shalom.

Grek

FORK FORK FORK

We're gonna lose. Kinda wishing the rain would come now. Dammit. I dislike losing to Australia.

Fun in the Sun

Silvermine is my new favourite thing! Eating and swimming and then doing it all again - all afternoon :)

Bday fun at Silvermine 09

KOM AAN PROTEAS!!!!

If we beat Australia today we will smash the world record for a successful test match run-chase. We still need 276 runs today, which is huge. But we have also still have 8 wickets in hand. I was there at the game all weekend. So depressed after Saturday, when we played kak, but now I believe! Maybe Jacques can at last get his moerse big hundred against the Australians.

At the very least we have no more weather like this on the horizon to ruin everything.


P.S. Peter Siddle is a wanker.