One of the delights of living in the Southern Hemisphere has to be its dense, dazzling night sky.
Meandering to open spaces where the urban light veil falls away, yields a blaze of stars, the Milky Way (the Galactic Centre and magellanic clouds, a southern sky speciality), even man.made space objects twinkling back at us. In turn they’re scrutinised in ever-crisper definition as each generation of earthlings puzzles out the celestial connect-the-dots.

“Astronomers, like burglars and jazz musicians, operate best at night.“— Miles Kington

 
In the last few days of the International Year …

It’s hard to quantify the small dizzy delight we find in discovering something out in the world that simply makes us happy, no explanation needed. Julie Andrews floods the mental stereo like peach-sugar (what, you have no idea what I mean? see the video at the end to absorb the culture young weedhopper).. Maverick magazine was one of my favourite things (sigh).
 
And I wasn’t alone, peculiar that a business magazine could be a lovemark, but there it is.

 
In magazine materialization, with its suede-feel cover, fiercely clever and stylish innards, and …

No grand 10th century castle – you couldn’t get there on a steam train from secret King’s Cross platforms – but this seemingly unexceptional building at 9 Ntemi Piliso Street, downtown Johannesburg is brimming and buzzing with magic.
 
The Defense against the Dark Arts is for real. Here they’re battling the very real forces of poverty, indignity and violence that swallow too many of the young ones in our country whole. Peacefully, with laughter and a startlingly ingenious approach to education and business, this sister school to CIDA University is a …

I’m back in Cape Town next week for some wrap.up lectures at UCT, seeing beloved friends & family, working & meeting frenzies ..and catching the grand launch of Silicon Cape (last year’s World Mayor, now premier of the province, Helen Zille will be speaking to assure the gravitas of this endeavour).
 
Since the tech heads and urban visionaries will be gathering for said launch in Camps Bay, (and it’s spring!) it seems an awfully good opportunity to lure some of the city’s brightest women to a Cerebella lunch to debrief in …

memorable learning experiences, urban games and unusually powerful travel experiences for the slim minority that take delight in learning rather than just looking cool and together.