Jacob Zuma did not give us the keys to his beema!

A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine at Stern called me excitedly and said that JZ was going to be speaking. 

“JZ AT NYU Stern! On the future of south africa!” I remarked with mild bewilderment and surprise. Bono is an eloquent speaker on all things Africa but JZ waxing poetic on south african politics was a bit of a stretch.

I quickly learned that the JZ in question was the inscrutable Mr. Jacob Zuma, the head of the African National Congress. Everything I read about this man — his unabashed populism, polygamist ways, controversial rape and corruption trials and peaceful trouncing of Mr. Mbeki — made me really want to listen to him speak. 

Before the event, I watched youtube vidoes of him singing the Zulu anthem: Bring me my Machine Gun

In person, he was extremely underwhelming. His speech was platitudinous at best: he talked about poverty alleviation, health care, security, good governance etc. in a manner that was both lacklustre and uninspiring. The speech he gave could have been delivered in any country by any leader at any point in history. It was very odd.

My girlfriend who is an Africa scholar says that he was decidedly bland in an effort to avoid saying anything controversial. He was intentionally un-memorable she says. I am still searching for a better reason to explain why next president of south africa (which makes him the most powerful man in Africa — filling the shoes of people like Nelson Mandela) was flat as a fritter! Maybe Obama has spoilt all of us with his impossibly impassioned brand of magic.

Banksy: Street-art in NYC

Its hard not to notice a giant rodent holding an umbrella and a brief case officiously with the words: Let them eat crack painted next to it on one side of a dilapidated building (pic taken from my phone). In the middle of all the sensory onslaught, lies an uncommissioned form of art, vying for eye-space. In New York, street-art is both ubiquitous and invisible, beautiful and painfully amateurish.

On doing some research, I quickly learned that the giant rodent was the work of Banksy and that New York has museums dedicated to street-art! In fact, www.streetsy.com will tell you about the 40+ other artists who all have their own distinct styles. The next time you walk around NYC, keep your third eye open for this evolving form of expression.