So, being positive (and brief), what’s good? This, which, if being honest, can take some of the blame for my recent lack of posts.

Also, for people who like games, nostalgia and wasting time at work (so basically 90% of Internet users): this.

So, with that out of the way, I fear my World Cup hangover may be starting before the tournament has even begun. There are three principle factors that have precipitated this, the first being an experience I had trying to find accommodation in Rustenburg, having bought tickets for Australia vs Ghana at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium.

Predictably, most guesthouses and the like were fully booked, but I did manage to find a campsite in a backpackers a few kilometers out of town. They were actually rather accommodating and the price for camping was not as inflated as what they were asking for a dorm room. So fine, I’ll camp in winter.

Then I received an email encouraging me to make use of the shuttle they were offering to the stadium, because “it would be safer”. Not the greatest advert for South Africa as a whole, but still, nice service and I can get drunk. So fine, I’ll use the shuttle.

Then I was told that it would cost R500 pp for me to do so. Not fine, not even close, not even if the people at the backpackers assumed I was Australian. If this is an indication of the level of price-gouging and exploration that is going to happen during the tournament, then I’m afraid I will be  jumping on the bandwagon of negativity that certain people have been piloting around the media the last few months.

Speaking of exploitation brings me to the second cause of my premature hangover: this article, detailing a plan by former top SAFA officials, including that nice Mr Khoza next door,  to make off with a hefty percentage of World Cup profits. I can now understand why Khoza was so anxious to regain control of SAFA before the tournament and I’m relieved he didn’t do so, although that relief is tempered by the fact that Khoza’s absence offers no guarentee that World Cup profits will actually be spent on things like development and facilities and not end up in someone else’s pocket.

With a hangover like this, one needs peace and quiet, so the release of the official World Cup song is hardly going to help matters. Especially since the song itself is almost indescribably terrible. Fortunately, I don’t need to describe it (another plus of working in a multi-media environment), but I will say that the opening reference to soldiers is unfortunate, given Africa’s conflict-ridden past (and, in some cases, present). As for the rest of the song, it would be erroneous to call it cliched, since cliche’s, while unoriginal, are at least capable of conveying meaning.

Instead, Waka Waka (and the title says it all, really) uses so many cliches that the whole thing is basically meaningless. I suppose it is an achievement for a single creation to embody the worst of music, the worst of commercial enterprise and the worst of fevered, nebulous conceptions of AFRICA dreamed up by FIFA’s marketing department, but that sort of achievement hardly validates the track’s existence.

I’ve written before about the conflict between bad art and good causes, as has Chris Roper, but in this case I don’t think the fact that proceeds are going to a good cause can justify the existence of art this bad. Especially since no-one pays for music anymore anyway.

But no, turns out I was right when I wrote that “the ANC probably won’t discipline Malema too harshly and, if they do, they certainly won’t be open and approachable regarding the process.”

Sure enough, we get a press conference like this. Thanks to Phillip de Wet’s brilliant Twitter feed I was able to follow the events as they unfolded and they left me feeling thoroughly depressed about the whole situation. About the only positive one can take from this is that Julius himself has been silent for a while, although I’m sure that will change following his successful flexing of behind-the-scenes muscles.

Another great piece on The Daily Maverick (AKA South Africa’s most depressing news source) is a column by Ivo Vegter on Match’s accommodation shenanigans.  I don’t really have anything to add, other than to say I wish the issue was getting more coverage in mainstream media. Perhaps they’re waiting for the hangover to start before banging that drum.

So far, I can cross two items off my list of things I’m not looking forward to at all. Hopefully I can be right about the good stuff too.

His following seems to be largely based overseas though; in South Africa,  conversations about District 9 mostly revolved around the quality of the special effects and the production in general, as well as the fact that we had finally made a decent movie that didn’t necessartily deal with the “legacy of Apartheid” or push an explicit politcal agenda. Most South Africans simply assumed Copely was Wikus, although that may change when they see him in the upcoming A-Team movie.

The reason I’m talking about Sharlto Copley is this SAMA presentation bit hosted on Funny or Die, which seems to be the online video service of choice for celebrity side projects (I’ve mentioned Between Two Ferns on this blog before).  I didn’t watch the SAMAs, because they were on TV and weren’t sport, but I suspect that the bit would have played a lot better to an international audience than a local one.

Or maybe I’m not giving South Africa audiences enough credit and, to balance things out, I am equally suspicious that the South African connection between Copely and Theron would have been lost on many Americans. Either way, credit to the SAMAs for being a bit creative with their award presentations.

This strategy of imposing “conditions of trade” was used very effectively by the World Bank and WTO in order to impose Milton Friedman-style market economies on nations who were either not ready or not willing to institute such systems.  Now ACTA is threatening to do the same with copyright laws. Want an  example of how certain copyright laws may not be suited to developing nations? Look at the valiant battle our government fought against the pharmaceutical companies in order to be able to provide cheaper HIV medication to the public (not that they actually provided the medication once they had won the legal right to, but still).

South Africa’s previously limited bandwidth has kept us off the radar of the global anti-piracy cabal, but I fear that that may be about to change. On the other hand, the increase in bandwidth may also mean South Africans will be exposed to new ways of consuming media. I think I will end on that note, since this post is already way too heavy for a Friday afternoon.

Pictures like these:

For more awesome 3D street art, check out the slideshow over at The Huffington Post.

While I appreciate the DA’s attempt to keep the excesses of the ruling party in check, occasionally it feels like they could be doing more substantial work rather than grabbing headlines with high-profile bids like this that are doomed to fail. Not that I’m exactly sure what they could be doing, other than making sure the Western Cape runs efficiently, but this just seems like they’re wasting everyone’s time.

Speaking of bids that are doomed to fail, Richard Dawkins is adamant that he will have the Pope arrested for crimes against humanity should he try to visit the UK later this year.  The most surprising thing about this story? The balanced comments left on the article on TimesLive.

Obviously, Christopher Hitchens is also in on it. Here’s a nice bit of Hitchens awesomeness, And another.

I’m not a huge jazz fan, but it shares enough of The Wire’s pedigree (and a few cast members) that I’m willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. Also, John Goodman is one of my favourite actors, mostly based on the work he’s done with the Coen brothers.

Stuff that I wasn’t looking forward to that has already happened: According to this tweet by The Daily Maverick’s Phillip de Wet, Gwede Mantashe has told journalists that the “disciplining of Julius Malema (if any) is an internal ANC matter & he won’t discuss it.”

• The release of movies like Kick-Ass, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Iron Man 2 and Predators. ‘Cause I’m geeky like that.
• New music from Big Boi (if the singles are anything to go), Little Brother, Ryhmefest, MIA and possibly, if I’m deciding to just be flat-out optimistic, the DOOM Ghostface collaboration Swift and Changeable (and, if I’m being flat out naive, Madvillainy 2).
• The 2010 Soccer World Cup.
• Watching more of The Wire and finishing the final season of Lost.
• Seeing whether the ANC actually takes action against Malema, other than just condemning him in the media. Also, seeing Malema’s reaction to his condemnation and any other disciplinary action he may face (Great analysis here).

• Soup.

Now, in order to maintain my Fox-like commitment to being fair and balanced on this blog and also because I believe every silver lining has a cloud (and I never write in cliches), here are some things I am not looking forward to at all:

• Having to brave Ster Kinekor’s terrible cinemas in order to see  all the movies I’m looking forward to.
• The expected price increases during the 2010 Soccer World Cup and the hang-over that will follow the tournament when the media start asking questions about debts, empty stadiums, etc, etc.
• The inevitable whining when the final season of Lost fails to feature a scene where a character faces the camera and answers all the viewer’s hanging questions simply and clearly.
• Realising that that ANC probably won’t discipline Malema too harshly and, if they do, they certainly won’t be open and approachable regarding the process. Also, the fact that Malema will probably carry on regardless.

Today, the ANC leadership have issued an unprecedented statement condemning Malema’s actions, saying that they “cannot be condoned” and were “not in keeping with the culture and traditions as well as conduct of a cadre and leader of the ANC.”

Now, it may not have been pleasant for Mr Fisher to have been treated as he was, but if that is what it took to get the ANC to finally reign in the ANCYL leader then it was worth it. Totally and utterly, although the cynic in me insists that the whole thing is a PR exercise driven by the fact that the journalist involved worked for an international news agency.

I wonder what the ANC’s response would have been had it been, say, a journo from the Mail & Guardian.