motifake of the week

motifake of the week

inside out and upside down

I finally got a chance to try my hand at silk acrobatics, this morning. I’ve been avidly searching for someone who offers lessons in Joburg, but surprisingly, for a city as big and diverse as this, there is no one. That was until I was alerted to a workshop coming up being hosted by Fusion Dance (who are actually based in Durban so this was a “once-off” opportunity) and I immediately signed up for it. This being an introductory workshop saw the participants being taught the basics of silk like how to hold, climb and do basic inverts etc. It proved very strenuous on the hands and a fair deal of strength and agility is required to execute the moves, even in the beginner stage. I had a phenomenal time and will definitely be pursuing this further.

takes a lot of arm strength to climb the silks

motifake of the week

contentment

adj. 'kan-tent-mint'

1. Desiring no more than what one has;

2. Satisfied.

2. Ready to accept or acquiesce

 

it's a state of mind

 

My apologies for having neglected my sacred space the past few months. Truth be told, my work had taken over my life...but I’m taking it back! (by force, at that). The Mr and I spent a very leisurely Sunday strolling the Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens on Johannesburg’s west end this past weekend. To my knowledge, it’s famous for the pair of black eagles perched up next to the waterfall..so that was the first thing we sought to investigate when we got there. Sadly, in the height of the noonday sun, the eagles were nowhere to be seen, but the view and surrounding gardens were a treasure. And so it was that we fell asleep on the grass and woke to munch up our home-made picnic and stroll around a bit more. Delightful.

I've never seen a black and red locust before...it is a locust, right?

motifake of the week

friends we've lost along the way

Remembering the young genius and talented songstress that is Ms Amy Winehouse, who bade the world farewell this past weekend, I realised that she is the latest of a string of music stars who lost their lives exactly the same age. Some would say that in many ways they had a talent too big for their characters to contain, and thus they fell into a pit far too deep for them to claw out of by themselves.

Gone, but not forgotten they are. What they brought into the world and the passion, with which they lived each of their respective lives, inspired and continues to inspire millions the world over to be bold and dare to live their lives without prescriptions.

Janis Joplin

died  October 4, 1970, age 27

cause of death: drug overdose

Jim Morrison

died July 3, 197, age 27

cause of death: drug overdose

Jimi Hendrix

died September 18, 1970, age 27

cause of death: drug overdose

Kurt Cobain

died April 5, 1994, age 27

cause of death: suicide

Amy Winehouse

died 23 July 2011, age 27

cause of death: drug overdose

I hope your souls have finally found the rest they were yearning for.

from Austria, with love

I’ve been a bit MIA in my blog the past while. That’s because I was out globetrotting and haven’t had time to blog about it all. More info will come over the next few posts in drip and drabs.

 Firstly I found myself in a beautiful little city named Salzburg in Austria.

I and a fellow adventurer named M went walking through the streets of Salzburg on a warm but rainy afternoon. Salzburg is of course, is the legendary Mozart’s birth city, and the locals make have no shame about flaunting that particular fact. You’ll quite easily find all sorts of tourist-targeted paraphernalia branded with Mozart’s name on them. They have Mozart tours, Mozart concerts, a Mozart museum and even a Mozart University. Yep, they love Mozart.

It’s also (like most of Europe) an old, but beautifully kept city that offers the visitor a passage through time into another era of life. Century old cathedrals and museums litter the city and even older castles sit as fortresses that overhang the city’s background. Simply put, it’s magnificent. The old of the architecture meets the new of the culture and vibrancy, and the outcome is something that well and truly can’t be put into words, but must be experienced in order to truly understand.

If you go:

DO – Give yourself permission to get lost. Walk through the streets without a map.. Believe me, not only is it small enough that even though you get lost you are never really lost, but every street also  houses its own little treasures that are well worth stumbling upon accidentally (as it were)

DO – visit the Dom Du Salzburg. Never in my life have I been awed to this degree by a cathedral before. It will leave you breathless.

DO – buy a CD from a random dude selling them out of his guitar case while he sings the songs to the sounds of his guitar strings. Not only will you not find this CD anywhere else in the world, but you’ll sleep well knowing you helped a starving artist....and on e day when he’s famous, you can say you were one of the first to “believe” in him J

DONT – Only do what all the other tourists do. It’s okay to catch the bus or train and venture off into unknown territory. Just ask the bus drive what time the last bus returns to your original destination. You’ll live...I promise

outside the Dom du Salzburg

inside the Dom. See how little the people are in comparison to the building..

the Dom has magnificent hand painted and hald carved ceilings

walk the streets and get "lost"

fortress over the city

the Mozart museum

motifake of the week