Loerie Awards Video Collage

by Mark at King James.

digital type fun

telescopic text totally rocks.

more scenes from The Loerie Awards 2008

Dave is shocked at yet another photo being taken of myself and Nicole.

Dot Dot Dot. No more need be said.

Here Jo Thomas looks like the lead singer of a band. On the balcony at the Night Before braai.

I think this photo encapsulates Carla and I over Loeries Weekend. This is from the 2nd night at the event.

Mike Abel's underwear. Believe it, because it's true.

Von Brandis Von Brandishing. This is really what Loeries is about. Lucas is pretty indifferent to it all.

Welcome signs for Jo and Kev, who drove up. In a real car. Srsly.

Rei and I get down.

Matching in our desaturated metallics.

mustafa maluka: the new improved Tretchikoff

I love both their work.

an interesting post comparing 2 of my favourite artists.

ever wish there was more than one of you?

Jason: hire him to stand in queues for you / pick up your washing / take your dog to the vet / read to your blind mother.

now you can make that wish a reality. i hope this company gets very rich off the generally low standards of service in SA. way to go, guys.

just another Dark Knight review

RIP Heath Ledger. You did good.

Batman has always been my favourite comic character. Despite the fact that every time I pick apart the specifics (he’s a man, who dresses like a bat, who doesn’t have any real powers) I can’t understand it myself, but it’s always been the case. Since our flight back from Margate was only at 9.30 pm on the Monday following the Loerie Awards, we had quite a bit of time to kill in Durban, so we headed off to Gateway Mall, where we saw they were showing The Dark Knight on Imax. And thus we found a way to spend our time.

In short, I loved the movie. The Imax experience made it all the more special since every time Batman leapt off a building you got the feeling you were remixing your innards to make them more dance-friendly. I was nervous, because Jack Nicholson is a hard act to follow, especially in a role like The Joker. I was even more nervous because I was worried I wouldn’t like Ledger’s performance, and then I would feel really bad since Ledger died and he deserved to go out with a good performance. But the nerves disappeared very fast, to be replaced with goosebumps.

The Joker as played by Heath Ledger is decidedly the most creepy villain to come out of either Marvel or DC stables since I can remember. Nicholson – for me – seemed to coast on his natural creep-factor, while Heath Ledger brought something a lot more frightening to the table – a villain based in a reality that a lot of people in this world face. The fact that his character had his faith in people taken away at an early age, and then he then set out to prove that any good man could be stripped down to his constituent monster if you took away what he loved, managed to scrape at a something sensitive that lurks in my spinal fluid. I guess having spent a lot of time trying to work out why criminals in South Africa cannot be reasoned with in their unflinching disrespect for human life, I have come across this story myself in many different examples. It was both moving and unnerving to see it on the big screen.

What really sold the story to me was the fact that despite the disturbing nature of Ledger’s Joker portrayal, I grew to really like the character. This reminds me of when I read American Psycho for the first time. Sure, he sliced up women and homeless people, but the author inspired empathy in me for the monster, as did Ledger. When I finished that book, I felt as if I’d lost a best friend.

I read somewhere once that characters in stories are merely focused and exaggerated versions of the various characters that live within and make up our minds. Everyone has a Joker, a Patrick Bateman, and only by loving those characters as well as loving the naturally likeable characters in your mind can you ever exercise any control over them. And that’s what makes super villains into just that – super. Liked, despite. Ah, man. I’m so glad this movie didn’t disappoint me. If you haven’t seen it, you’re in for a treat.

The Loerie Awards 2008

wow. i have to say, i am impressed. from ramshackle seaside event to slick sunny extravaganza, The Loerie Awards finally grew into all its potential this time round. i think one’s experience of the awards depends on a number of factors, including where you’re staying, who you’re with, etc. This year we stayed slap bang in the middle of Margate in the flats about the Rondevoux Mall, which made access to shops, the beach and ceremony exceptionally easy, and thus we had a great weekend. the weather in Margate was sheer perfection – not muggy, very sunny and the water was warm and swimmable, so i managed to fit in a mini seaside holiday in the off-time. the rest of the time was spent catching up with people i haven’t seen in ages, which is a large part of what makes going so much fun. here are some of my pics, i will add a few more later. oh, and here’s the link to the saturday winners and the sunday winners.

before we left, we made a whole bunch of enlarged Jason faces. Jason works with us in client service, and in his spare time he is a paramedic and a bit of a dork. we like to make fun of the fact that he never doesn't pull a blue steel face in photos. we also like to make fun of his 'Safety First' policy.

We even got Jason to stop freaking out long enough to embrace his faces in a totem pole formation.

We made the Mugg & Bean waiters quite nervous.

Digital won a whole bunch of awards on Saturday night, which made people say things like "We really need to get into digital,". Hmm. Rather late than never, I guess.

I was really impressed by the various screens on the stage. A vast improvement from just 2 screens with a barely legible powerpoint presentation on it. This actually looked good, and you could see the work, which is what we were there for, after all.

More stage prettiness.

Arguably the biggest awards (Television Grand Prix) went to King James for the Allan Gray ad, "Beautiful". I think they deserved it.

This is an action shot I managed to capture during our Friday night braai in Margate. At some point someone threw breadrolls, which resulted in a fully fledged food fight. Here we have a precious shot of the tomatoes landing on Michael's head.

Me and Jean, who is now a designer at Grid.

Christian, Brandt and me. Thunda.com was everywhere, capturing the memories you'd rather not have.

Rei and Mark on the beach, where we found respite from the loud and bad house music at BackLine.

Looking a little sunburnt, I found Jen lurking at the back of Backline.

awesomeness of the day: 1up cupcakes

made by my friend renee for her boyfriend’s birthday. super cool.

if you’re young, make some noise

while there are a lot of companies out there hoping to capitalise on youth opinion, i was recently introduced to a company that manages to facilitate not only hearing opinions and dreams but making them into a reality, too. Youth Noise describes itself on their website thus:

“YN is a social networking site for people under the age of 27 who like to connect based on deeper interests than Paris Hilton’s wardrobe and want to get engaged within a cause. Find a cause, search for friends, and get involved. Want to free Tibet? Passionate about human rights?Whatever your cause, network it here.”

Under their causes tab is listed anything from Animal Rights to Arts and Media, to Economy to Business to Government to Poverty to  Religion, to name but a few. You can also join existing youth projects, create a personalised profile, connect to government and gain access to registries of companies and sponsors who can help with your cause or dream. i think it’s an awesome idea, and wish there was a company like that in South Africa whose disillusioned youth so desperately need a voice.

South Africa presents a unique challenge, however, because mass market youth don’t have the kind of internet access something like Youth Noise. a mobile version of the site would be a prerequisite here. i can only imagine that everything that is wrong with South Africa - crime, unemployment, poverty – will only be compounded as upcoming generations realise that as much as the word democracy gets thrown around here, they really don’t have a voice. what do you say, Youth Noise? are you ready for a challenge?

Levi’s Live Unbuttoned Laser Graffiti videos

the event

the making of

secret Levi’s Laser Show & a free pair of 501s

so a really cool thing happened last night. the boyfriend and i had heard there would be some sort of ‘happening’ on the corner of Long Street and Wale Street (Cape Town) at 8pm. so we braved the cold to go check it out. upon arrival we saw a small crowd of people clustered on the street corner. we waited around for about 15 minutes and then a laser projection appeared on the side of one of the buildings. the projection was of a graffiti artist, who appeared out of nowhere and started spraypainting the wall. at first it looked realistic, then the lasers started making all sorts of interesting shapes and effects on the words, which read: “Live Unbuttoned.” periodically the guy would disappear and reappear, bouncing over geometric shapes and doing Parkour-type jumping off the walls and roof of the building. then he would start his graffiti over again.

in the beginning were the words. and the words were ‘Live Unbuttoned.’

the artist starts playing with lights.

things get a little more interesting on the laser front.

jumping over laser shapes.

laser squiggles

missioning around with his materials

and this is where it gets interesting. suddenly, he’s no longer painting, but he’s playing on his mobile phone. next thing a number appears on the projection, and a word to SMS to the number. so we all frantically SMS, and receive a text back instructing us to find the ‘Live Unbuttoned’ truck, which is apparently parked nearby. we spot it in seconds and run across the road and bang on the door. a young guy asks me to show him the text message, and next thing i have a brand new pair of 501s in my hand. fantastic!

if you want to get your hands on a free pair of 501s, i’ve heard that there will be more laser shows in and around Cape Town. And Levi’s, if you’re reading this, please tell me why you didn’t throw any girls jeans into the mix? Because as rad and as cool as this stunt was, i can’t wear a guy’s cut, which makes it a bit of a let-down. How about something for us ladies?

Moxyland Soundtrack Album – out now

i got this as a birthday gift from the author, amongst many fabulous gifts, but i am very excited about it. i’ve never heard of a book being released with a sound track, let alone a south african work of fiction. apparently you can buy them with the book in store. i’ve included a back pic so you can see which tracks are on it. am happy to see super evil’s there – it is iconic as far as original music goes in cape town. i particularly love the THIS IS NOT DEMOCRACY hidden in the clip in the jewel case. cover design by SA designer Dale Halvorsen.

what the f&*% is social media?

thanks to thecopyninja for this great presentation that simplifies social media.

…and we’re back!

wow. it’s been a while. a whole month in fact.

i would have got my act together sooner but both firefox and safari have not been able to log me in on my new machine. safari just flat out crashes. so i’ve turned to Opera. what a relief to be able to browse the net properly again.

i had an amazing holiday. spent a lot of time getting fit. got some decent running shoes. upped my running time. just generally spent time in my body, which doesn’t sound that great but if you work in an office from 9-5, especially in the ad industry, you’ll probably agree that it’s a luxury just to be physical and do a little sweating.

i’m really enjoying my new job so far. it helps that i know the people i’m working with already, so it’s not completely new. it hasn’t been too busy either, so i’ve been able to ease back into things.

today is also my 25th birthday. a whole quarter century. like a quarter pounder, except way better. in fact a quarter pounder does not compare. this morning while half asleep i had a dream that ‘the planets were aligning’, which i took as a good sign. i also woke up to tea in bed and a gorgeous Adidas Originals Grey Satin Hoodie – a gift from my special boyfriend. another great gift i’ve received would be Pleasures of the Damned, an anthology of the poetry of Charles Bukowski. So far so good.

i’ll upload some photos from my break a bit later.