Plugged and unplugged

I have never seen as much mud as I saw this Easter weekend at Splashy Fen. But porridge-like mud and somewhat unsavoury ablutions could not discourage the torrent of music lovers that slid into the music festival. I have always thought of myself as something of a prude when it comes to the types of music that are available to our ears these days. I don’t like screaming, I don’t like wailing, I don’t like musical folk tales, I don’t like panpipes… or so I thought, until this weekend. There is something about watching a musician in action that is quite mesmerising. You find yourself involuntarily tapping your foot, and after a few shots of sherry you start to bob your head, and then before you know it you’re “full-on jamming bru” (quote by red-eyed, male matriculant) without a care that someone might be pointing and laughing at you because everyone seems to be doing the same thing. It got to the point where I was jumping and flailing about furiously to a heavy metal Christian band. Clearly my previously plugged, conservative ears had been unplugged and to my amazement I found myself, and many others like myself, opening up to all things musical. Heavy metal gospel, pop folksong, electronic jazz, and pop punk bombarded me in true post-modern speed and multiplicity. I came away from splashy feeling alive, and eager to keep refilling this feeling by supporting as many musicians as humanly possible. So I returned to Pietermaritzburg bespeckled with mud, reeking of smoke, desperate for the loo and quite broke. Was it worth it? Definitely.

Instant Organisation...

A few days ago my dad remarked that because of cell phones, my generation has lost the art of planning. He made it sound like a negative thing, but I think it has made our lives so much more spontaneous, and we actually end up making more plans, just at shorter notice!
The days of organizing things way in advance and actually sticking to a plan are fading away. Our society is literally turning into a last minute culture… we organize coffees and lunches between lectures via sms as we walk out of class, and go straight to the restaurant to meet everyone.
I suppose my dad was therefore correct in saying that technology only really benefits the people whose generation in which it was invented. We are so used to cell phones that we wouldn’t be able to get by without them – so they haven’t revolutionized our lives, they have been a part of them from the start, and are thus a necessity. It is our parents who have benefited the most because the introduction of cell phones totally changed their lives.
I do often wonder how people planned stuff… and what you did when you got lost! I suppose it also gives one a sense of security knowing help is always contactable… but getting robbed for your cell phone debunks that idea!

One thing that grates me is when you go out with people, and everyone sits at the table sms-ing all of those people who aren’t there! Life is about the here and now… you miss the present if you’re always trying to be in touch with someone who is somewhere else.

Cara Booysen