the genius of elliott erwitt

i discovered elliott erwitt in new york. there was an exhibition of his "personal best" at the international centre of photography and i wandered into the gallery not sure what to expect.

i always feel a great photographer captures moments. and mr. erwitt has captured a lifetime of these. from unknown strangers to marilyn monroe and jack kerouac and jackie kennedy at jfk's funeral. he sees the humour and irony in the everyday. there are photos of new york in the fifties. the racist tension in mississippi and the kkk. nudist wedding ceremonies in london. oh yes, those were funny :)

his photographs, all black and white {which i love}, will make you smile. or feel a sadness deep in your soul. or a strange nostalgia for an era long before you were born. or just take your breath away.

if only...i could be as good as this one day.
i can dream :)
x

{see more of his work here. go. right now. seriously. and be inspired}

lessons from oprah

so my next blog post should technically be about new york, as i just spent 4 days there.

nah.

i want to dedicate this post to someone who means a great deal to me. it's not oprah. but oprah was a part of our friendship that has spanned 23 years. katrina {or katinks as i call her} met in pat kirk's ballet class when we were 6 years old. we did some sunday school together, missed primary school, connected in high school, separated at varsity and are still close friends two decades later.

it sounds morbid, but i often wonder what people would say about me at my funeral, and i hope people don't leave the sincere compliments for when i'm dead. so katinks, i want to honour you right now with a memory that oprah's last show sparked, a memory that made me laugh out loud and cry at the same time.

me, in a black afro wig, in your mom's teal satin blouse and bracken high dri-mac slow mo running to paul simon singing the theme song for the 1996 season of oprah. ten years come and gone so fast i might as well be dreaming. we were tasked to produce a video for visual literacy and we chose oprah. {i think jacqui grant was also in our group?} maybe because i could fake an american accent. or because graham {my brother} did a great nelson mandela impersonation we could use in a "telephonic interview". but we did this absolutely crazy random shoot and ended up with a video that no one else found funny or entertaining. we thought it was pure oscar genius :) it's so rad how you were still friends with me in my worst moments. and being a white oprah was not the worst, believe me. i still hope that video has been destroyed by mold and moth.

that, was 15 years ago. and still, though we have not lived on the same continent for 2 years, i count you as one of my most precious gifts. things are different now, but not much has changed.

thanks for mtv music videos, teaching me how to smoke a cigarette, gladwrap slimming secrets, explaining me back to myself when i didn't make sense and life was even more nonsensical, for getting lost with me in greece, laughing at my lame jokes, spoems, hours and hours and hours of long conversations, introducing me to pashminas, always pointing me to the high road and encouraging me to be the bigger person, getting me employed at the bank {which was pivotal in leading me exactly where i am right now}, explaining the mi pack and an income statement to me {algebra in matric and nii in credit card} and for always being my number one cheerleader, advocate and voice of reason.

you are the most generous and selfless person i know. i have never known you to say a harsh word, neither to a person nor behind their back. you love so completely and without condition. you treat everyone with respect and dignity. you are fair and uphold justice and defend your values no matter what the circumstance. you believe in the best in people and this doesn't make you naive, in fact we need more of you in this world.

i miss you. i am grateful for you. and i look forward to many, many, many, many, many more seasons of life together.

oprah's 25 years may have come and gone, but i'm still in this. til we're grannies in greencross shoes. with awesome pink pashminas x

cheese in a can pt 3.

so i really don't know how many more of these i can write before it gets boring, but here's another update of cheese in a can…{by the way, cheese dispensed from a can is also known as aerosol cheese. what the heck, right?}

having my closet go from average to awesome in one night.
sun!!!
sun tan!!!
well, sun burn.
repeatedly accidentally dialing sa numbers because i'm getting used to the new iphone.
damn you autocorrect!
nail bar with asian ladies {i needed a translator, seriously}
fashion show in springfield. what an experience.
a 90 year old cowboy giving everyone the finger-gun. what an experience.
more guacamole and endemames from flo.
"electric cowboy": where 12 year olds line dance in flip flops and hot pants and have bachelorette parties.
karaoke bar. complete with over the top slightly disturbing boksburg-esque rendition of "proud mary". ummm….
exciting news from special friends at home.
reading miller's "through painted deserts" and feeling amazed at the parallels.
panero bread chicken soup which made flu less awful.
awesome convo with the lovely patersons. i miss them too much.
bar one chocolate. sigh.
14 hours of sleep -- flu is finally starting to go away.
skype with the awesome courtney browning.
planning summer holidays.
atlanta fest ticket booked!
so amped about the fact that i am going to finally see david crowder* band and switchfoot live.
pinching myself. repeatedly.
sweaty palms.
invitation to dinner at the home of the chairman of the rainbow network, a non-profit that is involved with poverty alleviation, building houses and {get this} microfinance in nicaragua.
feeling an excitement i cannot describe, chatting to someone who understands issues in africa and is part of the solution, not the problem and who is more in love with south africa than i am. and that was just on the phone. stoked for dinner next week :)
pinching myself. repeatedly.
burger buns that are STILL fresh. seriously??? it's been 3 weeks, people!!
may the fourth be with you {ahhhh it's too cheesy!}
devouring the lonely planet guide to NYC.
trying to understand the subway schedule on the website.
feeling inspired by awesome, talented and creative designer friends from home. megan bisset you are amazing.
opera singers from manhattan and russian taxi drivers from brooklyn.
tears on skype.
feeling so grateful for amazing, supportive parents who make me laugh and cry at the same time and who have always encouraged me to live my dream.
getting a ticket to see "wicked" on broadway. wow.
picking out a cocktail dress for drinks on a rooftop on 5th avenue.
pinching myself. repeatedly.
deciding to totally take the bull by the horns.
making connections with representatives at accion.
my first cinco de mayo celebration -- fun times :)
enjoying people enjoying my accent.
"it's appalling!" {pronounced ap-paaawwl-ing}
tired. too tired. what's wrong with me? seriously, who sleeps this much?
booking tickets.
booking hotels.
expedia autocorrecting to exotica. wow, that was an awkward moment on whatsapp.
damn you autocorrect!
singing "start spreading the news..." to myself. in my head.
eeek.
inspiring skype convos with the incredible roan cruickshank that make any day wonderful.
aaron. 'nuff said.
impromptu wine tasting.
sneaky mother's day planning.
bass pro. so much taxidermy and camo i almost threw up. i truly despise hunting.
camo bedding. camo lounge suites. camo teddy bears. camo lingerie. *vomit*
"that alligator's not real!"
trophy winning pulled pork at whole hog. it was pretty tasty. it's like pork from a spit braai.
krispy kreme doughnuts. just for warren wakefield.
swinging on swings in the park at twilight.

that's the story till now.
x

start spreading the news...

i am so stoked i just have to write this down somewhere / share it with the internet world and/or those who randomly read my blog...in two weeks time i will be in new york city. the big apple. phew.

this has been a dream of mine for so many years and it will be realised. for real. and i am not ashamed to be a total nerd about it.

there are so many things i am pee-in-my-pants excited about:

one. i am staying in an awesome hotel smack bang in the middle of the city. opposite madison square garden. penn station. a few blocks from the empire state building and central park. and opposite mcdonalds {because i can only afford $1 burgers for the 5 days i'm there. either that or i'm smuggling "lunchables" and special k bars in my hand luggage}.

two. i have secured my ticket to see the musical "wicked" on broadway. when i hear the opening verse of "defying gravity" i will cry tears of happiness. i think in a way it's a theme song for my trip. either that or "defying reason" in terms of how much it's costing me.

three. i will be networking and rubbing shoulders / picking brains / hearing thoughts and ideas of the top minds and trailblazers in microfinance at the microfinance usa 2011 conference. kiva. accion. citibank. chevron. cap one. grameen america.

four. as part of the conference i will be enjoying cocktails on the rooftop of 230 fifth avenue. google it. as well as a post conference social at almond restaurant. google that too.

five. i will have two full days to enjoy soho, chelsea, central park, moma and so many other amazing places. getting lost in the meatpacking district. stumbling upon cool art galleries and photo exhibitions.

i'm not being obnoxious or trying to make anyone jealous. i cannot express how much this means to me. i'll be on my own but i think it's cool that i will be on my own. i've never really been on my own. it's about doing something and not just talking about it. i'm tired of just talking about living.

and at the end of the day, the cost is not really a cost. the money i'm putting into going all out is more of an investment in a better story i am writing with my life.

that's all.
x

reasons why the royal wedding was {actually} cool

ok so i have been mulling over this for a few days. i was one of the weirdos that was awake at 4am watching the nuptials of the pre-duke and duchess. and yes, i was laughed at by some people for being awake that early {if i was on south african time it would have been totally acceptable}.

i've also read the cynical / romantic / ooh aahhh comments on facebook. but here are the reasons why i think it was cool:

one. i think william is genuinely a good guy. and i think he has handled this whole thing better than any of his predecessors. he has my respect more than any royal.

two. after the drama and immense sadness and tragedy over not only the public divorce but very public death of his mom, this story deserves a happy ending/beginning {just 3 months short of exactly 30 years after his parents married in july '81}

three. the middletons may be worth millions now, but they were not born into money. and this is the bigger idea that captured the imagination of not only britain but the world i.e. the royals are no longer an exclusive stuck up bunch of snobs. a girl whose parents actually earned their money can find a prince, who happens to be a good guy. suddenly the royals are accessible. normal. sort of.

they do not deserve our cynicism and self-righteous scathing comments about pomp and ceremony and "that" dress and will's bald patch. maybe you wouldn't like any of that for your wedding, but guess what? it wasn't your wedding.

this {i hope} is a different story.