Monday, May 12, 2008

Chevy Prizm vs. Tree

I think the tree won.






Sunday, May 11, 2008

Friday, May 2, 2008

Mango Groove-Special Star

Turn up the volume for some '80's goodness. Hehe, Mango groove was hot when I was 7! But seriously, I'm posting this one so you can hear the pennywhistle at the beginning.

Kwela-Kwela mama

Kwela music is a type of South African Jazz that originated in the townships and is often characterized by the pennywhistle, a cheap flute long used in traditional African music. A Zulu word, kwela means get-up and became a slang term to describe the police vans that would raid the shebeens (illegal bars). The people would shout "Kwela-Kwela," warning the people to get up and run. The word is also used as an invitation to "get-up " and dance.

This group, Mafikizolo, combines the old Kwela sounds with more modern influences. More and more, you can see the influence of American hip-hop in township music today. This song leans toward the traditional side, with the video depicting a story of the old racial divisions.

Oh, and I really the dig the band members' outfits.

New School township Jive

Kwela_Mafikizolo

Old School township Jive

My dad used to play this all the time when I was little. I remember running around our house in Orange Grove singing along.

Almost 3 1/2 years ago....

Daniel and I flew to the motherland for an incredibly eventful week in sunny Capetown. Although most of the big game parks are on the other side of the country, my mom found this small cheetah park that works to educate the public on cheetah conservation. And, yes, you can pet the cheetahs after they are fed. Most of them are cheetahs that can't live in the wild for some reason or have been rescued.

Cheetah Video




(PS- this picture of me is gross)