Homeward Bound.

Ke Nako.

Well, after 42 days, 685 photos, 64 games, 157 goals and unmeasurable amounts of caffeine, we have come to the conclusion of our little expedition to South Africa. 

Another ratings record!
Almost 25 million people in the United States watched Spain beat the Netherlands and take the World Cup on Sunday, the most watch soccer game in US history.  ABC had 15.5 million viewers while Univision drew 8.8 million.


Things I'll miss:
the people of South Africa. free breakfast at the City Lodge.
Things I wont' miss:
the nasty air around Joburg.  The messed up IBC bus schedule.

Somewhere along the way, we dumped Java 4.0 (too many viruses) and graduated to Coffee 5.2!

Deli Su Casa, 3 doors down, has been my haven for a good americano.  A great place to hang with a friendly crew that started recognizing me when I walked in the door, bringing my order of yogurt, fruit and granola with my java.  Murray, they owner, has created a comfortable vibe with reclaimed barn wood, groovy lighting and eclectic music, even if he dresses waaaaay to trendy in his sweatervest with pastel dress shirt perfectly un-tucked. It's a place I'd like to hit up on Saturday mornings...if only it weren't 3 light years away from home!



Thank you all for coming along.  Throughout this jaunt, we have tasted a new culture, gained new friends/reconnected with old ones, learned important history, ventured to new cities, driven on the wrong side of the road, enjoyed wonderful/scary new food, had our feet nibbled by fish, partied with Elvis, Captain America & Uncle Sam, got to see Spain, Brazil & US play, 'traveled' to faux Tuscany, experienced amazing new music and created a gazillion hours of live TV.

here is some of the music we've tasted:
http://www.myspace.com/vusimahlasela
http://www.myspace.com/angeliquekidjo
http://www.shoutcast.com/radio/African
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9F6VLU00.htm
http://www.myspace.com/freshlygroundsa
http://www.myspace.com/theparlotones
http://www.myspace.com/arnocarstens
http://www.myspace.com/watershedsouthafrica
http://www.myspace.com/watershedcentral
http://www.myspace.com/santigold
http://www.myspace.com/vampireweekend
http://www.jesseclegg.com/
http://www.johnnyclegg.com/

if you are jones'in for some live notes, try this:

JFK Live at Keizer Rapids Amphitheater

Saturday, July 17, 2010 at 4:00pm

Keizer Rapids Amphitheater ALL AGES!!!!!

 

pilfered from TK:

 

 

I miss you all, can't wait to see you in real life and not this crazy internet. 

Thanks to our World Cup sponsors:

McDonalds- for becoming one of the direct contributors to obesity and malnutrition worldwide.

CocaCola - for causing tooth decay and diabetes to millions that need it.

BP- for royally screwing up the environment.

and to Sony...well, you haven't offended me yet.  But I'm sure you will.

OK, time for some real thanks

 Thanks to my crew. It was a pleasure to go into battle with you. Not sure if I would have made by myself.

Thanks to my parents for giving me whatever it is that keeps me going and planting the seed of wanderlust with childhood road trips.

To my bros, sis, nieces, nephews, uncles etc for taking care of the house.

Thanks to God for all the people I've met, the geographical beauty I've seen and adventures I've experienced.

and Thanks Shelby, for letting me gone this long.

Baby, I'm coming home!! !! !!! !!!! !!!!!!

 

 

 

 

Random picts that didn't make the cut for other blogs: 

 

 

they stopped making these 3 years ago in SA!

the Queen made it to a few games!

Upon entering the MonteCasino:

some random 'fella' in Capetown.

Capetwown.

that's it! adios.

Viva España!

2010 FIFA World Cup Champion.

It wasn't pretty, we now have a new World Champion. Spain pounded the Netherlands into exhaustion and brought it home with an extra time goal to win 1-0.  Madrid is celebrating a long awaited dream, while well over 100,000 in the Museumplein of  downtown Amsterdam strolled home in silence, saddened by missed opportunities.



More than 150,000 supporters watched the match on massive screens in a giant fan park in a one-kilometre stretch of the city's main thoroughfare.

That was a traditional knock down, drag out, heavyweight fight.  In the end, a record 14 yellow cards were issued for dangerous play.  Two of those combined resulting in the Red Card dejection of Holland's Johnny Hietinga, becoming the 5th player in history to be sent off in the Final. Andres Iniesta's brilliant volley in the 116th minute is latest ever game winning goal.
Netherlands' 10-game winning streak and 25-game unbeaten streaks are snapped, as the Dutch lose for the 1st time since September 2008.

The Fifa World Cup Trophy now has a new home in Spain! Made of 18 carat gold with a malachite base, it depicts two human figures holding up the Earth. It debuted in 1974. The original trophy was named Victory, then changed to The Jules Rimet Trophy to honor FIFA president. Brasil was the first to win 3 championships in 1970, earning the Trophy permanently...that is, until it was stolen and never recovered.

Spain is now one of only Eight countries to win the Cup. Others are Brazil, Germany, Italy, France, Uruguay, England and France.  The Spaniards become the first team to win the World Cup after losing their opening match.





The great Nelson Mandela graced us with his presence at Soccer City Stadium.

Paul the Octopus is right..... again!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jul/12/paul-psychic-octopus-wins-world-cup

Controlled Chaos in Control Room A.
Bill Graff oversees the production crew with feeds from the IBC, our Studio, announcers at the stadium plus live shots in Amsterdam, Madrid and Miami, Toronto, Bolton England, and Orlando, Fla. from the Disney mother-ship.
That was some serious, high pressure, 'where's-the-the-highlight', crazy, too-many-voices-in-my-headset, split second, 'roll Red' , fast paced production.  Nice work amigos!

That's about it.


I'll wrap up tomorrow.


Now, it's nap time!!

World Cup Final ! ! ! !

Howzit friends? (local slang for. -yup,  you guessed it- 'How's it going?)

Let me introduce you to the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final on ABC. (11aPT).   FIFA, these are my friends.

This championship game features Spain vs The Netherlands.

Fiery Red vs the Orange. 

Bullfighting vs speedskating on frozen canals.  

Sangria vs Amstel. 

Picasso vs Rembrandt.  

True, the game will be played on the pitch by 22 men, but in the larger picture it is clash of cultures.  Team strategy, style and reputation is a reflection of the country.  This is most evident in the Samba style of Brasil (though not so much under coach Dunga), the artistry of the Dutch, the bullfighter intensity of the Spaniards and even the multi-ethnic teamwork of the USA. 

Each game is a chess match. For non-futbol fans, it's sometimes hard to watch, but if you pay attention to the passing triangles and the off-the-ball movement you will see the art of sport.  Watch Spain today, as Xavi controls the ball outside the penalty box, he will pass forward to Iniesta.  At the moment of the pass, Pedro or Villa will be making a run into the box, expecting a pass from Iniesta.  (vote for Pedro) Multiple things happening at once, it's how the game meant to be played.  Netherlands will play the part of the Opportunist, with counter attacks and goal scoring when you least expect it.  Not just one superstar, but a collection of athletes playing as one.  The concept of a team as living amoeba with an undefined shape.

It's The Beautiful Game with a Mozart track. It's the individual dribbling artistry of a Stanley Jordan guitar riff.  It's the power of Metallica playing defense. It's the seize-the-moment style of Garth Brooks.  It's the psyche-your-opponent out mindgame of Queensryche. It's the free-flowing teamwork of the Phish. The grit of Springsteen. The innovation of herbie Hancock and the attitude of Ice Cube.

That, is why I love this game. 

Clear your schedule, grab some drinks and snacks- PreGame start at 10:30aPT.  Sit back and join the 90,000 fans in the stadium and a worldwide TV audience of over 700 Million for this biggest of sporting events on the planet....maybe the universe.  (no TV ratings or attendance numbers were released from Tatooine's Pod Races).

Tech stuff:

In case you were wondering, our EVS edit system (like a Tivo with more buttons) has 3.6 Terabytes of storage. Four EVS XT2+ with another 4 IP-Director stations as ingest = more than 28 TB of HD video storage. At about 60 hours of HD DVCPro100 capacity each , that's over 760 hours of memory! If sleep were not an issue, you could watch soccer, Julie Foudy's Voices of Africa segments, Sal Masekela cultural features and every one of our sponsored, scenic billboards for an entire month straight!!

ESPN, Bristol also brought over 100 removable drives at 1 TB each.- roughly 280 hours.

As a bonus, Bristol can use their two IP-Directors to scan our network and File transfer to the in-house Quantel system.  As a young Chicago-an once told me as I was shooting his fine city with a fancy, new Sony D35 Betacam, 'Technology, it's the wave of the future".

huh?

Music stuff.

Recently, I was introduced to the music of Johnny Clegg. His themes of racial harmony match his eclectic style of music. He has perfectly blended English lyrics and Western melodies with Zulu musical structures.. As an anthropologist/musician, he has earned the French nickname Le Zulu Blanc – the white Zulu.   http://www.johnnyclegg.com/

I also look forward to checking out his sons work. http://www.jesseclegg.com/

 IBC Stuff.

There is a great buzz around the IBC today. The pace has picked up, the vibe has changed. All 113 broadcasters here are ready.  What was once some sort of theme park called 'Pleasureland', has been transformed into a Worldwide TV Production facility.

All the networks and HBS are spread among nine halls, each about the size of Salem's Jackman Long Bldg. OK, for non-Salem-ites, it's somewhere around 200X400 yards-ish, plus or minus another 100 meters. Could I be more vague?

The central courtyard is an open plaza and a fresh grill restaurant.  Kinda feels like a college campus- reminds me of Cal State Dominguez Hills next door to the Home Depot Center.

Captain Research, aka David Satlin, is ready for a Spanish victory this eve!

But there are divisions among the crew.

Our Queen of Replay Media, Esther Van Huystee will be in the stadium rooting on her homeland.

Security forces are in place for tonight's match.

Be sure to stick around after the game for our 'rollout'- a visual/music montage encapsulating the entire tournament of this Beautiful Game, sure to make you cry.

On yet, anther random note, here's a good laugh for ya.

http://io9.com/5583937/car-full-of-zombies-crashes-in-portland-baffles-police-and-onlookers

Food stuff.

I can't wait to get back to Dave's Killer Powerseed Bread with fresh ground Almond butter and Lori's home-canned raspberry jam!

In the meantime, we are subjected to Albany bread and Yum Yum peanut butter.

(any Sundlings out there ever heard of this?)

I wonder if they use water from the Hudson??

Blue like Joburg Jazz

Guten Tag freundens!      Germany vs Uruguay for 3rd place today. 11:30aPT. ABC.

Set your DVR for ABC tomorrow! The 2010 World Cup Final kicks off at 11:30aPT.
Super-Massive Pre-game show starts at 10:30, sure to be another epic, edit masterpiece to start the show, this one voiced by Don Cheadle.

This will be the first tournament where Spain and the Netherlands meet for the Final.
The Dutch lead the all-time meetings 4-3-1, while Spain leads the head to head scoring 12-10.
Who will be victorious in the greatest sport event on the planet? Just a day away!

But today's blog is not about soccer. (nor is it about LeBron)

Hop on your magic carpet, get your hiney over here! Jump in the back seat and join Chris Allan and I on our Joburg jaunt.


Pimp my Ride.
Instead of two taxi trips at 300 Rand each, we rented this little tin box for 400.  

'Fluff'master Flash and DJ RUSTenburg thumpin down the streets in a Kia Picanto.

Don't be gentle, it's a Rental!
Sure, why not?  I'm up for the challenge of driving on the left side of the road. What they didn't tell us is that the only car available is a stick shift. No prob, I've been driving stick since I was 16.  Scratch that, it was 14... (someone had to deliver those heavy Statesman Journal Sunday edition papers in the rain, and Mom had already driven every Sunday for 4 years!) The issue here, is that in these cars, the driver shifts LEFT handed. I had to quickly learn a new set of movements,,, or just grind the gears a lot!!

'My Friend, My Friend'.
Through some constant reminding to 'Stay Left' we meandered to the Bruma Lake Craft Market.  Part local artisan outlet and part cheap-stuff flea market, we killed a good 3 hours playing the negotiating game.  'My friend', 'come look inside' 'where are you from' and 'which mask do you like' are the most common catch phrases heard walking among the tin-roofed and blue-tarped alleys.  If you let the sales dudes think you are interested, the deal is already done. At that point, it's time to barter!

'How much for the Giraffe in the window?"
This is where the fun begins.  The shopkeeper may start with a price of 170 Rand, but as soon as I give a look of sheer terror, I hear "but I have a special price for you- 140 Rand" (wow, lucky me!)  I start to walk away ,"my friend, how much you pay?". So I offer 75. He laughs. "I have to make a living, my friend, 125?" I tell him about another shop that sells a larger mask for 90. "OK, my friend, 100 for you only".  I agree, but only if he throws in a couple of leather bookmarks. Deal.  In the end I got some nice gifts and saved a whopping total of about $9 US.  The shopkeeper probably made back double what he paid wholesale, and Fluff and I had a few good laughs.

Hustle and Flow.
With a few hours to kill before dark, we wanted to see what downtown was really about. If we were on a tight schedule, this would have been a big mistake.  Friday eve at 6 in downtown Joburg is not for the timid driver.  Within a few minutes we found ourselves in the belly of the beast- smack dab in the CBD- Central Business District.  The buzz of this place gave me the feeling you get when you step off the S train at Grand Central Station, but much dirtier. All around is a constant blur as people rush to catch a bus home, many times playing that real life version of Frogger crossing 5 lanes of moving traffic.

 'Magic Bus'
The traffic I speak of mostly consists of the standard white city bus.  SIXTEEN THOUSAND of these white Mini-Vans make up the entirety of Joville's mass transit system.  Much like the Mexican Combi collectivo vans, these work more like taxis with no defined routes. They are '15 -passenger vans' that are usually filled with around 20!  The bus depot is an anthill of activity.  Drivers and potential passengers waiting on the sidewalk communicate through a very confusing form of sign language to convey routes and times.


'Jazz the way I like it'.

Later that night, we made our way over to the Teatro for the 2nd of two Hugh Masekela & Friends concerts. Wow, was I blown away.  Earlier this month, I noted my own lack of jazz knowledge with the fact that I did not recognize his name as part of the Opening Ceremonies. Later I realized that, indeed, I had heard his music, just not his name.  This month, I've heard all about his name and life.  His is an intriguing story of a 30 year self-imposed exile from his African homeland, a lengthy international music career and a touching family connection ( his son, Sal, is part of our announce team).  Yet, learning all this was nothing to prepare me for a night of his live music.

Although many of the lyrics were in another language, his thoughts and themes were conveyed through the power of music. By way of that magic, we started out Grazing In The Grass of a savannah, then were passengers on a Coal Train ride through Africa.  We learned about the love of his Mama and the life of an African Lady.  At 71, he danced the stage like a 30 year old. His unique raspy voice dipped to a Sha Na Na low and suprisingly, to a Vienna Boys Choir high. If you ever get the chance to experience his live show, please do.(and invite me along, too!)  If not, go buy some of his vast collection of music. I will. http://www.amazon.com/Hugh-Masekela/e/B000APTL8M

The feeling at the beginning of the show was like a mellow James Taylor  a Capella tune at the old Starwood Amphitheater.  Later, the groove picked up to the level of Soulive  funk at the Knitting Factory. At the finale, everyone was dancing in the pews of Ebenezer Baptist Church.

speaking of Jazz.. have you ever read Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz?  A quick read where a random road trip parallels a random spiritual trip.


Min Dae. ! just a few days left, then I'm on my way home!

Ole' Ole' Ole'

And then, there were two! dos, twee, duece, deux, zweie.


The World Cup Final is set. Netherlands and Spain. Sunday at 11A on ABC.  (1 hr pre-game show)


In a rematch of the Euro Championships in '08, Spain, again bested Germany 1-0.
Paul the octopus continues his streak.
 http://ibnlive.in.com/news/octopus-pauls-prediction-comes-true/126182-5-21.html  
hmmmm I'm confused, I thought Paul was the Walrus?

A stalemate in the first half, Spain began to control in the second.  In the 73rd minute Carlos Puyol brought his Basque attitude and his Eddie Van Halen flowing coif up from his defensive position to leap higher than a stack of Marshal Amps heading a Xavi corner kick past German keeper Neuer.  Tara Baker and David Satlin were ecstatic with joy...as was the city of Madrid and Spaniards everywhere.

Deutschland's dreams were crushed- 89% of the country was watching the carnage.  They now face Uraguay in the 3rd place game on Sat morning.

No games today. take a break. get off the couch. go get some sunshine for me! (one great way to get some exercise and sunshine would be to go mow my yard)

The pursuit of The Cup.

World Cup tidbits:

This final will feature the top 2 scorers of this Cup, Wesley Sneijder of Holland and David Villa of Spain, both have 5 goals. Each futbol masterpiece will make ya say 'wowza!'

Spain have the most World Cup wins of any country that has not lifted the World Cup trophy. The Dutch have the 2^nd most. 

Teams that have won the World Cup without losing or tying a game.

1930         Uruguay         4-0-0

1938         Italy                  4-0-0

1970         Brazil                  6-0-0

2002         Brazil                  7-0-0

Netherlands could join this list

10 players have won both the European Cup (UEFA Champions League) final and the World Cup final in the same year. Wesley Sneijder could be added to this list if the Dutch win the title. 

Serious crew bonding at dinner the other night. 

Finally got all of our MLS posse out on the same night.


Musica de dia!

Went to get a haircut yesterday (I was staring to look like Puyol). got the scoop on the local music scene.

Check this great South African band.  I should go buy this one. you should too! Could be my new fave band. a slow easy thoughtful piano/accoustic sound to chill with:

http://www.myspace.com/watershedsouthafrica

 which is different than Watershed from Columbus, Ohio! 

http://www.myspace.com/watershedcentral

dig this sound. could be my new 2nd fave. in the vein of Wilco and Jayhawks.

My secret Portland stash of 'Coffee 3.2' has run out. Much to the joy or Amy Rosenfeld, Beth Chappell and Julie McGlone, I rationed it as long as yesterday morning. Alas, we now move on to Java 4.0.

Yep, this pict is from the faux Italian villa next door.  Not a Strarbucks in sight... haven't seen one in the whole country!!

Have ya had your Blatjang today?

Semifinal #2 & Studio Tour

 Haita!   (Zulu slang for 'Hello')

Did ya catch that Dutch game? did you (Van) Gogh watch it?   Successful risk taking at pivotal moments and a mass of Orange is what I saw in a 3-2 win for the wooden shoe dudes.  All three Netherlands goals hit the post en route to the back of the net. The Uraguay goals were outstanding as well. Once again, Forlan launched an ICBM from another continent that found the upper right corner to tie the game.  How he do dat? Yet, Van Bronckhosrt's 35+ yard rocket gets my vote as best of the Cup. Search YouTube for all the goals, it's worth it!
  Or, better yet, just watch our PreGame show, I'm sure we'll play it.

I worked the early shift then joined travelers Joe, Merideth, Bob and Nicole in the IBC HD Cinema for the 3D presentation of the game. What a perfect match to watch in that extra dimension.  TV coverage uses cameras mounted lower to the field to enhance the depth.  Shot's are not as tight, since we can already see everything in HiDef.  Soccer on  a 30 foot screen, with vuvuzelas in 5.1 Surround Sound, makes the experience like a session on the Holodeck of the Starship Enterprise.   Joe's reaction."That was almost as good as being in the stadium".....yep, just not as cold!

Demy de Zeeuw, got a bicycle kick to the face. that's gotta hurt!

SEMIFINAL #2 today!
Germany vs Spain. at 11a on ESPN.

Germany can continue its outstanding offensive onslaught...or Spain will unleash more of it's prominent passing prowess to slow the Deutsche. I'll be rooting for the Espanol, Germany already has a few World Cup trophies.

The coastal city of Durban host's today's game. 

A year ago, there was talk of the stadiums not being ready in time.  I beg to differ, what's the problem with a stadium made of sand?

For today's random tunz, check out Vampire Weekend...
(which has nothing at all to do with screaming teanage girls waiting hours in line at a movie theater.)  It's a light sounding Afro-pop fusion thang from NYC, currently getting big in the UK.  recommended by Ailsa, another Media Manager from England.
http://www.vampireweekend.com/

http://www.myspace.com/vampireweekend

Come along, let's stroll out back of the IBC on a quick tour of the studio.

Built 30 feet high for a view of Soccer City Stadium.

check out the 16 foot HD screen.

finally, actually 16 by 9!

Studio has 2 pedestal cameras, 1 jib (crane) and one Steadicam (James Lyttle).

I'm not really sure what this means....



.....but it's the most basic description of what I do.

...what we all do, really.





During our off duty time, Todd, Chris, Shaun, Shaw and I have been heading down to the local parks to play pickup games with the locals.  lots o fun!

http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/NsAc7s2eySDrc1Vg