Doing a quickie today. Sites to maintain and stuff to do. All in a day’s work.
We stayed over at The Bottle Tree House at Sycamore Avenue, Midlands on Friday night. The tree house was something else, it appealed to my inner child. The hosts were jovial and chatty, the food scrumptious and the cosy fireplace great to chase the chill away.
The Latest saga surrounding the negative impact of the Vuvuzela on the SWC.
South Africa has officially marked the 50-day countdown to the Soccer World Cup. Now I must say, as organising goes -with the help of FIFA- I think we’ve pulled it off quite nicely and I think we should be ready in time to host this major event. Unfortunately we have not been immune to the controversies that inevitably follow an event so widely covered as this. There have been many stories making their rounds lately and one in particular is the antipathy towards the ever faithful South African born Vuvuzela. Right from day one experts have been ‘playing down’ this instrument, stating the noise to be very distracting to the players and annoying to the spectators .
It seems that researchers from the University of Pretoria have taken it one step further by producing scientific evidence, based on tests at a soccer match that the sound level produced by Vuvuzelas, inside a 2010 stadium could lead to permanent hearing damage.
The test was comprised primarily by testing the hearing of 11 spectators before and after they attended a Premier Soccer League match at a FIFA-approved training stadium with 30 000 seats. During the match, ten of the 11 wore personal sound exposure meters fixed to their shoulders, and four of them blew Vuvuzelas. The researchers said the average sound exposure experienced by the participants during the almost two hours they spent in the stadium was 100.5 decibels. The peak exposure exceeded 140 decibels for eight of the ten participants, with the maximum peak reaching 144.2. The four who blew vuvuzelas had the most exposure to noise. South African standards for occupational noise requiring hearing protection are for people exposed to levels of 85 decibels and above.
Now a few questions come to mind when I read these results.
Firstly the benchmark for South African standards for occupational noise has been measured based on people who have prolonged exposure to this noise on a regular basis i.e. In a work ‘occupational’ environment, is it not? Surely this does not apply to a once off event lasting 2 hours?
Secondly, people willingly attend music concerts and nightclubs knowing full well that they are going to be faced with a mountain of speakers, chucking out huge decibels of noise as well as additional crowd noise and so on. Do you walk into a nightclub wearing earplugs? Do you open a lawsuit against the owner stating permanent hearing loss due to his health and safety standards? I don’t think so.
Thirdly, maybe people should be warned ahead of time about the possible dangers and be told to take the necessary precautions if they think they will be adversely affected? Let each and every person be responsible for their own ears. That is not too much to ask is it?
South Africa is renowned for making problems disappear by putting signs up. It’s absolutely brilliant that if a certain road has problems with potholes, all they have to do is put a warning sign up informing people of such, problem solved. So much easier than fixing those pesky things, they always end up coming back anyway. Only in South Africa.
So let’s carry on with this treasured past time by putting lots of bright yellow warning signs up at all the major stadiums around the country, this should keep all the drooling litigators at bay.
I believe the Vuvuzela is here to stay, so let’s just build a bridge and get over it Ok?
By: Kerry
Ref: News24.com
OK, I haven’t done a maths problem in a while, so here goes-
If one and a half hens lay one and a half eggs in one and a half days, how many eggs does one hen lay in one day?
Once again, please provide your workings, so that I know you haven’t thumb sucked
Unlike last week’s snake post which almost saw me hurl a concoction of Cornflakes, peas and carrots, this weeks pictures are refreshingly, stomach-friendly.
So this is the rumbling tummy of the Iceland volcano that’s caused a lot of havoc the world over. It looks quite pretty in this picture don’t you think? It reminds me of the fountain in Gateway Shopping Centre, only prettier, scarier, hotter and more colourful.
But here it’s starting to look a little peeved….
and here….it’s in dire need of an anger management course.
Do you ever play that game where you make shapes in the clouds? Well, to me, this one looks like a giant cotton wool factory that ran out of bleach. The factory behind it clearly had enough supplies. What does it look like to you? A toxic pancreas?
The good thing is that a few flights resumed today!
Question to the Phuthu Girls this week:
What song best describes your life motto?
Kerry
The song that best describes my way of thinking is ‘I’m Yours’ by Jason Mraz, It’s a very happy-go-lucky kind of song that seems to instil in its listeners the need to love as much as you can. Don’t make your life a mine-field of complications. Simplify it, by living it. Peace Man!!
Lyrics: I’m Yours by Jason Mraz
Well open up your mind and see like me
Open up your plans and then you’re free
Look into your heart and you’ll find love love love love
Listen to the music of the moment people, dance and sing
We’re just one big family
And it’s our God-forsaken right to be loved loved loved loved loved
Elzet
It’s not my favourite song but the first one that popped up and a real golden oldie that I always used to sing when life wasn’t working with me. It sort of sums up the way I do life - I’m on a mission and nothing’s gonna stop me from doing what I gotta do and living the life I chose. I apologise for making you watch the music video.. eish. She’s very old and straight from the 80′s! Watch it when you need some cheering up (check out those dancers, baby!).
Lyrics: Break my Stride by Matthew Wilder:
Ain’t nothin’ gonna to break my stride
Nobody’s gonna slow me down, oh-no
I got to keep on movin’
Ain’t nothin’ gonna break my stride
I’m running and I won’t touch ground
Oh-no, I got to keep on movin’
Louise
Pick a favourite song with lyrics that represent your attitude to life.
Houston,we have a problem!
Did you Rodger that? Over.
I’m one of those people who loves music but half the time doesn’t know who’s singing a fab tune on the radio, hasn’t the foggiest idea what the name of the song is and lastly, pays little attention to the lyrics.
But after a bit of thought, I made my choice. It was tough. It’s one of the greatest hits of all time but it’s instrumental. I hope that still counts. Obviously there are no verses to pinpoint and I think it’s quite apt taking the above into account. I don’t know if I could ever pinpoint a verse that describes my life motto – I’ve got a lot of mottos and so I would be doing a lot of pinpointing! It could turn into a thesis.
When I listen to this song, it full’s me with love and a few tears at the same time – the tears because it’s so beautiful.…just as life is.
Going Home by Kenny G
Let us know which song best describe your tude to life.
A friend of mine phoned with news that she has two extra tickets to a rock show at the Barnyard theatre and they can’t think of anyone that will enjoy this more than us. Yeah, old rockers, that’s what we are. Sean was all amped and I considered wearing my matric farewell dress and heels out of sheer excitement (very un-rocky, I know); ready to hit the Barnyard, expecting to bob to the likes of U2, Mick Jagger and Van Halen.
As we hung around the reception area waiting for the rest of the party to pitch, we eyeballed the people..
Me: Do they look like old rockers to you?
Sean: (scanning the area while trying to hide a smile as a very “clean looking” family passed us) Uhhmm.. not exactly, no.
Me: What does an old rocker look like?
Sean: Well, look at us… We surely don’t look the part any more. But wait until *Gary walks in…
Imagine our surprise when some dude started playing the pennywhistle on stage. Something is very wrong here. The pennywhistle?? Oh boy, this is going to be a long evening. My friend was like: “Sorry, I really thought it was a rock show but it’s apparently some African jazz thing.”
The show was absolutely great! It’s called Diamonds & Dust; a proudly South African production directed by Duck Chowles and it takes you on a journey of joy, heartache and freedom. It’s not a black thing, it’s a South African thing dress-up in black rhythm and I liked it alot.
Anyone who knows me would agree with the theory that I probably have some black blood running through my veins. I don’t just love African music… I feel it. I love getting down to it. And those who know me even better would know that I sat there throughout the whole performance, dreaming of being on that stage. Spectator Schmectator – I wanted to be part of the performance. I so missed my calling. I wanted to be there in that spotlight, wearing that fluffly lil’ thing on my ass and shaking it about like there is no tomorrow.
They started off with Kwela which progressed into Kwela Jazz and covered songs like The Click Song, Pata Pata, Mama Tembu’s Wedding, African Dream, Diamonds on the soles of my shoes (my favourite!), Jabulani, One Love and many more.
My absolute favourite part of the evening was the positive message they delivered in close. A message of unity and of hope for all South Africans. Great timing.
*Gary – our friend that’s very into rock.
By Elzet
