Obz on The Singemonkey

December 08, 2024

Sun, 08 Dec 2024 20:48:49 +0000

From fancy nonsense about old film cameras to a good old phone pic. Had the old man around for lunch and @withoutaleaf introduced him to phō 🍲

I’ve been indulging in 80s nostalgia this weekend. I watched Cobra with Stallone for the first time since I saw it on vhs in about ‘87. Today I watched Pretty In Pink (great but WTAF with those last five minutes?) and we’re going to check out Desperately Seeking Susan properly on my old projector now now. Mostly enjoying catching up on iconic ‘80s movie moments I missed or was too young for at the time.

May 27, 2023

Sat, 27 May 2023 08:22:09 +0000

Dawn breakfast walk in my little urban village.

July 21, 2021

Wed, 21 Jul 2021 19:54:48 +0000

Rainbow over the street.

One downside of this 50mm I realised… focuses past infinity. Not a major problem, but not ideal.

April 15, 2021

Thu, 15 Apr 2021 12:05:22 +0000

This joint has never been more important. One of the few live music venues left in Observatory. Closed during COVID but then reopened under new management.

Ever since the first juke box and then the first disco back in the 50s, the eons old practice of live music recitals has effectively been rendered obsolete. But by making a big show out of it, that death has been postponed. But it’s often quite a hard sell against the very flamboyant and immersive forms of entertainment it now has to compete with. But for those of us who love it and do it, there’s no real substitute.

April 15, 2021

Thu, 15 Apr 2021 10:56:39 +0000

Astonishingly, some suburban houses in Cape Town have retained their original low walls without their inhabitants being murdered nightly, presumably.

Though I also know it’s a relief when people don’t regularly hop into your yard. Cape Town is a cruel city. And being “middle class” here (actually being in the top 5% nationally) puts you in a weird place in terms of how to react to the countless people struggling at the margins. There’s a lot of ignoring, pretence, occasional sympathy, and the ever-popular blaming-the-poor-for-their-poverty.

April 15, 2021

Thu, 15 Apr 2021 07:27:24 +0000

Nataraja dances in the dawn light coming in our bedroom window.

April 14, 2021

Wed, 14 Apr 2021 16:48:25 +0000

More Autumn skies.

April 11, 2021

Sun, 11 Apr 2021 19:55:06 +0000

Observatory begins to settle into winter.

October 23, 2019

Wed, 23 Oct 2019 13:49:51 +0000

An overcast spring day in Obz. How’s that bougainvillea though?

October 05, 2019

Sat, 05 Oct 2019 16:09:17 +0000

I’m not a big car person. But I do like a twilight Porsche 911.

October 03, 2019

Thu, 03 Oct 2019 12:35:14 +0000

And I shouldn’t keep Crumb from his fans. This is taken during his midday hard-burn sleep. Being this sleepy exhausts him and often requires him to take a post-sleep nap.

October 03, 2019

Thu, 03 Oct 2019 12:32:45 +0000

Trinket is also a big fan of the balcony in spring.

October 03, 2019

Thu, 03 Oct 2019 12:30:42 +0000

Skitten loves its new house. The upstairs carpeting is a neverending joy to it. And the balcony, especially now that it’s spring, is its pure delight.

July 27, 2019

Sat, 27 Jul 2019 13:33:25 +0000

Trying out new jpeg settings on my little Fujifilm XE1. Never used a digital camera I liked this much. Straight out of camera jpegs can be tweaked to look so great.

July 16, 2019

Tue, 16 Jul 2019 17:02:01 +0000

Rush hour at the bird hide in the South African Astronomical Observatory.

July 11, 2019

Thu, 11 Jul 2019 10:11:45 +0000

One more from the hockey. Just because I like the mist.

July 11, 2019

Thu, 11 Jul 2019 10:05:37 +0000

At the hockey stadium. Not many walk-ins at this early, misty time. But the players, coaches, and parents were already fully getting into it. It’s an international tournament, apparently.

June 11, 2019

Tue, 11 Jun 2019 11:51:52 +0000

I don’t know the name of this, but there’s a lot of it around near our new place. Sure looks good against the blue skies first thing in the morning.

June 11, 2019

Tue, 11 Jun 2019 11:49:46 +0000

Lovely light on the way up to coffee in Obz this morning. Winter in Cape Town is not the non-stop downpour many imagine.

June 06, 2019

Thu, 06 Jun 2019 17:36:01 +0000

More Obz Victoriana on the new street.

June 03, 2019

Mon, 03 Jun 2019 17:52:21 +0000

Observatory. It’s the mixture of Victorian cake-like prettiness with a layer of middle-income country grime.

April 29, 2018

Sun, 29 Apr 2018 12:15:46 +0000

BACK HOME NOW: she just popped over the wall 3 days later like nothing had happened- back to our emotionally wrecked husks. #Observatory #capetown #cats #catsofcapetown #kittensofcapetown #hartleyvale #uct Missing since yesterday in Observatory.

January 17, 2018

Wed, 17 Jan 2018 00:49:11 +0000

It’s a strange scene, but it’s home. I should prolly get that loudspeaker re-covered. And maybe get a stand made for them so that we can use those chairs again…