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Aurelia

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Blog Entries posted by Aurelia

  1. Aurelia

    Creative Ad

    By Aurelia,

    This is a photo my father took in Johannesburg recently while running an errand. South Africa is notorious for its creative ads (many of them involving wild animals). This is living proof that creativity is alive and well in the "Rainbow Nation" in spite of its many problems.
     

     
    Here are a few more samples of creative South African ads:
     

    - Vodacom is a South African mobile phone operator. This is a play on the classic 80s film, The Gods Must Be Crazy. 

     

    - Nando's is a chicken restaurant chain. Its ads are always a bit spicy. 
    Garmin GPS & Wildebeest
  2. Aurelia

    New Xmas Hit?

    By Aurelia,

    This latest version of Bohemian Rhapsody by the Muppets has apparently taken You Tube by storm. It recorded about 9 million views in just 2 weeks. EMI has recently announced that it plans to turn it into a major Christmas hit in the UK. It will be up against whoever wins X Factor, a British television singing competition. Seriously??
     

  3. Aurelia

    Rio 2016

    By Aurelia,

    Now that Rio de Janeiro has been chosen to host the 2016 Olympic Games (not to mention co-hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2014), it is only natural that it should be in the limelight for the next few years. Unfortunately so far it has only generated bad publicity: a police helicopter was shot down by drug traffickers a few weeks ago, and today a big blackout plunged the city into darkness. Although this is the first time I hear of a helicopter being shot down, I cannot say the same for the violence that seems to be slowly choking the city half to death. As for power failures, they do seem to occur rather frequently.
     
    All this makes me wonder if the Rio authorities will manage to get their act together in time for the big events of 2014 and 2016. If ever there was a reason or an excuse for them to take concrete action against crime, especially the drug gangs which thrive in Rio's many favelas, clean up the city and improve its infrastructure, this is it.
     
    Of course, I'm assuming here that the world will not come to an end in 2012 ...
  4. Aurelia

    Changes

    By Aurelia,

    I have been absent from UNRV for a while now - and after having a quick look around, I have realized that I'm not the only one. My life has gone through a few ups and downs in the past few months and many changes have taken place. To be more specific, I have recently changed houses, jobs and even relationships. All of these changes have been rather significant so it's been a lot to take in.
     
    Anyway, I'm glad things have started to settle a bit which means I'll hopefully have more time for UNRV as well. I'm currently reading a book which I hope to be able to finish soon and then review. Perhaps then I'll finally get a promotion.
  5. Aurelia

    Perpetuum Jazzile

    By Aurelia,

    I was checking my inbox today, while taking a break from work, and came across this wonderful video forwarded by a cousin of mine. Apart from the cool Latin name, they also have a very cool sound. They are a musical group from Slovenia and do mostly covers of jazz numbers.
     
    This is not exactly jazz but amazing nevertheless, especially the sound effects:
     

     
    And of course, I also enjoyed this (and was impressed with their accent):
     

     
    If you also need a quick break, do check them out.
  6. Aurelia
    I am officially employed now. Well, actually I have been for the past two weeks, which accounts for my partial absence from UNRV (thanks for noticing FV ).
     
    I am working in the trade division of a certain Embassy here in Brussels as a commercial adviser. Basically what this means is that we liaise with entrepreneurs in Belgium and the country I'm representing, promote this country's goods and services in Europe, organise business rounds and so on. It all sounds very glamorous but in fact it's also very bureaucratic. It's almost like being a civil servant, which I don't find very appealing. But I guess it will do for now - not a good idea to turn down a job in these troubled times.
     
    Most of all, it feels really good to be active again.
  7. Aurelia

    The Real Me

    By Aurelia,

    I've noticed that people are very protective of their real identities around here. Very few use their real names or even post a photo of their real selves in their profile page. This is a virtual community so it's normal, I guess. But human curiosity is also natural so I imagine that after a while we all end up wondering what our virtual friends are really like in real life, what they look like and so on... Or is it just me??
     
    I'm not revealing my true identity just yet but I thought I would at least give you a little glimpse of the "real me". Or at least of what I used to look like 20-odd years ago, hehe...
     

     
    This photo was taken on Christmas eve in 198?? - I'm the one with the startled look on the left, sitting next to my cousin (with a cast on her arm, poor thing). I think one of us must have been given a make-up set for Christmas and we were obviously testing it already.
     
    Should anyone else have the "guts" to post their pic here, please feel free.
  8. Aurelia
    It looks like Jacob Zuma will become the next South African president. Even though everybody knew he would win the elections, this still saddens me a little. I moved to South Africa with my family in 1992, just before the end of Apartheid. I was very fortunate to be there when the country experienced its first democratic elections in 1994, which culminated in Nelson Mandela being elected president. He was a brilliant speaker and a unifying force in a country that could very well have sunk in a bloody civil war. Fortunately this didn't happen and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was set up as a compromise.
     
    But since Mandela has left power, and the initial euphoria is over, things seem to be going downhill. It's true the country is going through a transitional period and the results of decades of social injustice and racial prejudice cannot be changed overnight. However, the "quality" of South African leaders is definitely dropping. Ok, it's difficult to live up to an iconic figure like Mandela, but still. Thabo Mbeki, Mandela's successor was a fence-sitter, not to mention his embarrassing statements to the effect that he didn't believe that the HIV-virus caused Aids and therefore didn't support any type of governmental action to subsidise and distribute retro-viral drugs to HIV-positive patients. And this in a country with of one of the highest infection rates in the world. And now Zuma: a man who's been involved in countless corruption charges (conveniently dropped just before the elections) and who was also accused of rape a few years ago. Where will all this lead to?
     
    I'm afraid to answer this question. Even though I don't think South Africa will go the same way as Zimbabwe, I think things could get a lot worse before they get better. It's good at least to see that the political opposition is getting stronger and hopefully in the not-too-distant future, the ANC will not monopolise South African politics so much.
     
    But enough about politics. I love South Africa and regard it as my second home. And as I still am in a mood for tributes (see previous blog entry), I would like to share two videos with you. The first contains a song by Soweto String Quartet, a group of amazing musicians known for their fusion of African and classical elements. I attended a live performance when I was a student in Cape Town. It was a brilliant concert and nearly brought the theatre hall down.
     

     
    And the second is a rendition of Weeping (lyrics available here), a powerful protest-song about the alienating effects of Apartheid - performed in London last year to celebrate Mandela's 90th birthday. I must say I like the version by Soweto String Quartet (with vocals by Vusi Mahlasela) much better. It gives me goose bumps every time I hear it. Anyone interested in listening to it, leave a comment or send me a PM and I'll send you a link where you can download it (don't want to violate copyrights here, hehe).
     

     
    Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika (= "God Bless Africa" in Xhosa)
  11. Aurelia
    When I mentioned elephants yesterday, some of you might have thought I had one too many cups of coca leaf tea. So before I get a bad reputation in the neighbourhood, let me clarify things. I went to visit an Elephant Sanctuary situated just outside Johannesburg. What a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon!
     
    This is one of three elephant sanctuaries in South Africa that provides a safe haven for elephants that have been orphaned or rescued from zoos. In the course of a 2-hour educational tour, visitors have the opportunity to learn more about ellies and their natural habitat as well as interact with some of these gentle giants. I made friends with a 9-year old cow named Temba who was brought over all the way from the Kalahari desert in Botswana. We got on so well that I got kissed several times - each kiss consisting of a large trunk attaching itself to my right cheek and sucking away. I've prepared a little album for the guests that might come by today or in the next few days.
     
    These sanctuaries currently host 12 elephants most of whom will eventually be sent to different game reserves around the country when they reach maturity. The ones that are most used to people will be sent to smaller parks to prevent them from being trampled on by their wilder cousins. What I find interesting about these places is that in a way they also raise awareness about the plight of these lovely animals in Africa what with the ivory trade still in full swing in certain parts of the continent. These are extremely intelligent and sensitive creatures and we have much to learn from them, I think.
  12. Aurelia

    Public Notice

    By Aurelia,

    Dear guests,
     
    My name is Aurelia and I have just moved into my new insula. You are all welcome to come visit at any time and sit down for a chat. I'll be happy to serve tea and various delicious Roman tidbits: honey cakes, cochleas lacte pastas, glires, and morsels of licker fish fresh out of the Tiber, yum!
     
    I'm currently painting the walls and arranging furniture in order to make my home as nice and cozy as possible. First though, I need to go see about some elephants.
  13. Aurelia

    Packing Misery

    By Aurelia,

    Currently packing my bags and hating every moment of it. I'm flying back to Europe tomorrow evening and while I don't mind the long-haul flight too much (I always find ways to entertain myself on the plane ), I absolutely loathe the packing routine that precedes it. It normally takes me about two days to get the job done. The worst part is not actually deciding which clothes and shoes to take along but to find a place for the "little things" i.e. toiletries, books, camera, travel documents and so on. I'm only allowed to take one suitcase with me yet I expect to get away with "sneaking" several bags in as hand luggage. This time, my estimate is about 3 to 4 bags of different shapes and sizes. Not looking forward to dragging all this stuff around with me but I think it's the only way to take what I need with me. One would expect the check-in people to be understanding towards passengers who have spent over four months away from home but alas this is not normally the case. This means I'll be leaving a smaller suitcase filled with the left-over stuff at my parents', as well as a big backpack from a previous visit. Luckily they have enough space at their place.
     
    On a more cheerful note (if I don't take the probable bad weather into account) I'm actually looking forward to going back to Belgium. I have a busy month ahead of me: two job interviews and an assessment test for an MBA programme I'm thinking of enrolling in for the next year. I'm more nervous about the test than the interviews. It involves maths, which always makes me apprehensive. And given that I haven't studied as much as I think I should, my self-confidence is kinda low at the moment. Hmmm, guess I've just figured what I'll be doing during the 11-hour flight tomorrow...
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