New Radio Blog

I have launched a new blog that focuses on radio and studying it. It's really a platform where I write about the documentary project that I am currently busy with, and my observations during the lectures I have been giving to undergraduate students at UCT.

I have uploaded some audio from my last night's interview so go ahead and have a listen.

http://radiostudent.wordpress.com

It's early days and there will be a lot more material in the blog soon; I am very much busy writing at the moment and I am very excited about it. Why didn't I think about this long time ago.

Another minor personal victory and other things to look forward to

It's a lovely Friday afternoon, I've got a lot of things to look forward to and if that's not enough, one of my photos was again selected as the photo of the day at the official Cape Town Tourism website. Have a look at the link, feel free to even comment here, there or in Flickr.

I am also currently starting up a new blog which deals quite specifically with radio studies. I have been teaching at the UCT and got many ideas and one place where I thought I could share them, and also just organise them, would a be a separate blog. Right now I am writing something and as soon as I am ready to make the link public, I will do so here.

Few links and photos

I’ve been busy writing some research and that always has its impact on blogging. Although, I have been writing about my running exercises on Runnin’ Tings. And running has been going rather nicely as well. It certainly has added value in my life.

But the reason I am writing here is to share a few links that I think are very cool.

Cape Town based independent hip-hop label Pioneer Unit, which is behind some of the most talented artists in South Africa, and releases, in my opinion, the most exciting albums in the country as well, has entered the next level with their music videos. The previous ones were cool, but these are something else, and quite frankly should get into the heavy rotation on TV’s music shows.

Here’s Driemanskap’s Camagu and The Streets by Rattex.

I have been a fan of K’Naan ever since I heard his Soobax years ago on BBC 1Xtra’s DNA (I wonder if that show is still on). K’Naan is a Somali rap artist, poet and self-proclaimed dusty foot philosopher who now lives in Canada. He has recently released three online mixtapes for free and very much legally in co-operation with an American producer and DJ J.Period. These mixtapes are tributes to Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Bob Marley and Bob Dylan. You can get them from J.Period’s site.

Of course also a few photographs in this post. They are from one of our family outings by the sea. More photographs in my Flickr site.

Runnin' Tings

Amkelwa's new trainers.

I have said for the longest time, defiance in my voice, that I won’t start running. I have never liked jogging. I have tried it many times and I basically have always wished that I’d be a bit more of a runner. But with walking I am able to think about stuff and while I am hardly such a philosopher that the UN convention acknowledges my thinking as crucial for.. well anything, I am a dreamer. That might be more accurate term. And I like it. With running, I am afraid this dreaming, let’s call it that, is under a threat. Of course I can dream other times, but now I’ve really digressed far from my motive to open the computer and update this blog. To put it simply: I’ve started running and blogging about it.

Yep, me and my wife Amkelwa have decided to take up a two month experiment where we run and write about it (at least a bit). The reason we decided to blog about it is to ensure that we stick to our promise and not slip so easily. Also partly to try the talk of town, Posterous blogs.

Link: Runnin' Tings blog

Guest Blogging for Cape Town Tourism

I was asked to guest blog for Cape Town Tourism blog, and today my piece has been published there. Go and read it.

...CC me as well!

I licensed my blog long time ago with the Creative Commons. At some point, while changing the layout or doing some such reconstruction work I have lost the bit of code; the CC (Creative Commons) icon, that tells what can be done with the content here. I can’t even remember if the licence was based on UK, Finnish or what legislation.

But these things are not so important now. I have licensed it again, now definitely based on South African copyright laws. You may use, distribute and rework all of this material freely so long as you make mention it’s by me and don’t ask money for it. If you should have a money making scheme in your mind, then we’ll talk.

Creative Commons licences are pretty cool. It’s still a copyright only you don’t pursue quite all of your rights to the point that people are allowed to hardly even think about it. I don’t expect, in a blog like mine, this even making too much difference; it’s mainly a symbolical gesture and to be part of the movement because copyright laws as we know them (and as most don’t know much about them) are so incredibly faulty, that something needs to be done.

Here’s a reading list for free content about copyrights. I am currently studying some of this as a part of my Masters Degree so why not share the links if you are interested.

Full E-Books:

Lawrence Lessig - Free Culture

James Boyle - The Public Domain: Enclosing the Commons of the Mind

Adam Haupt - Stealing Empire: P2P, intellectual property and hip-hop subversion

Yochai Benkler - The Wealth of Networks

Copy / South Dossier

Road trip and few other things.

Sunset on the road to the east.

It has finally happened; I am a student again. Officially. I’ve started doing my Masters Degree at UCT (University of Cape Town). Continuing similar media related studies that I already did in England. Getting permits took a moment longer than what I hoped for, but it’s all good in the end. The lectures are few times a week and on evening time so the day time struggle still remains in the real world.

We also had some visitors from Finland which was very nice. Great week with my family from that side who came down to celebrate my new decade. Having off week from University this week, we then decided to do a road trip to the great province of Eastern Cape. The home of so many heroes I look up to. Our destination, as per usual, is Graff-Reinett. One of the least progressive farming towns I’ve ever seen, but home to my in laws and birth place of the late Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe.

Summer seems to be starting. I was careful today not to get burnt by the sun, and I guess I was successful in that. I am happy about summer and just in general. That’s all I really wanted to say today.

Link: Flickr site for the photographs.