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I never knew this quarry even existed until reading about it on Do Stuff in Cape Town, which is funny because I live a short distance away and it's also pretty close to one of the mountain trails that I've been running lately.

The Vredehoek Quarry is a largely unknown site on lower Devils Peak above the suburb of Vredehoek. The fairly large and disused quarry can be accessed by an old tunnel and has developed a small and still lake at its center.

The quarry is popular as a site for rock climbers, and a good stop on the mountain biking and running tracks which surround it.

Skeleton Gorge (the beginning of a route known as Smuts Track) ascends from the 310m contour path above the world-famous Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. It's one of the most scenic routes up Table Mountain and provides spectacular views over False Bay, south towards Cape Point and east to the Hottentots Holland Mountains.

The route is moderate to fairly strenous: the trail is a steep ascent shaded by indigenous forest, while the terrain includes steep stairs, a steep rocky river bed and ladders.

On reaching the top we continued on to the Hely-Hutchinson Reservoir, one of the 5 dams on Table Mountain.

After a swim in the dam, we continued on Smuts Track along the eastern flank of the mountain until we reached Maclear's Beacon - the highest point on Table Mountain - until finally retracing our steps back to Kirstenbosch.

Ascended at 10am, descended just after 4pm.

It uses nine five-story cubes that twist as it rises; the top-most segment is twisted ninety degrees clockwise with respect to the ground floor. One reason for the building of Turning Torso was to reestablish a recognizable skyline for Malmö since the removal of the Kockums Crane in 2002.

(Photos above by Meltingfire, mr_reynolds, Ndesh and paralecitam. See more on Flickr.)

One of Santiago's other equally impressive designs, the Chicago Spire supertall skyscraper, will become North America's tallest structure and the world's tallest all residential building when completed in 2010.

I've now discovered that I came across two other Santiago structures (that I'm aware of) while backpacking around Western Europe: Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències (City of Arts and Sciences) in Valencia, and the Puente del Alamillo (Alamillo Bridge) in Seville, Spain. Really photogenic architecture.

I wouldn't say no to any of these buildings replacing the Athlone Power Station that dominates Cape Town's outer skyline - the future of which remains uncertain. Maybe something to complement the Athlone stadium and, err, the rest of the Cape Flats (aka. "apartheid's dumping ground"). Just imagine the view!

Ah, and to balance out the Green Point Stadium currently under construction - of which I'm not a fan. Cape Town's own giant toilet bowl. Or maybe it should be nicknamed "The Ashtray", to fit in with the The Pepper Pots and Table Mountain theme. Or is that the "Tampon Towers". Hmmm... then that would make the stadium the... nah, nevermind.

His links page offers similar obsessive photo projects worth checking out, although over the years I've enjoyed his the most, and found myself searching my links for his page every few years to check if he's still persisting.

I discovered this evening (late to the party - it was Dugg last year) that he's created a video: Living My Life Faster, condensing 8 years of his project into 1 minute and 44 seconds. The music accompanying the visuals is a little too seizure-inducing, but otherwise well worth checking out. Don't miss his entertaining FAQ either:

As you can see, I'm a pretty average-looking fella. This leads to me looking like a lot of different folk. It also leaves me looking like no one in particular.

Once, in a bagel shop in Brooklyn, I was accosted by a woman. She stated that I looked "exactly like a perfect mix of three of her best friends." I told her that I had no idea how to respond to such a statement. She agreed, and I bought my bagel.

And this one:

Contrary to popular belief, I do own more than 3 shirts. In fact, I own 3 red shirts that are exactly the same, as well as a number of plain, white t-shirts. Now, that doesn't mean I don't wear the same clothes 2 (or more) days in a row, but it's not quite as bad it seems. I just don't care enough. If you have a serious problem with the lack of diversity in my wardrobe, I'd gladly accept clothing donations. I wear a medium to large shirt.

And lastly, in response to "Let me ask you...did you find yourself in any of these photos?":

The longer I continue, the less I feel like the project represents me as an individual.

Operation Hunger is a South African registered not-for-profit organization. It is concerned with the problems of chronic malnutrition and poverty.

Table Mountain National Park, previously known as the Cape Peninsula National Park, is a national park in Cape Town, South Africa, proclaimed on May 29, 1998 for the purpose of protecting the natural environment of the Table Mountain Chain, and in particular the rare fynbos vegetation. The park is managed by South African National Parks.

Light makes photography. Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography.

- George Eastman

May his soul rot in hell

...seems to be the most popular opinion. IOL are also featuring a poll, asking whether he should be given a state funeral. Currently 56% say "No".

UPDATE: Found on YouTube: Spitting Image - Mission Impossible (Series 6, 1986): Sir Geoffrey Howe embarks on a mission to stop the evil of PW Botha in South Africa.

Songs from Table Mountain

I was at the Live concert last night and have little to no memory of the night's events after leaving the gig and arriving at the first Durbanville club we came across, although some dodgy camera phone photos involving a large number of beer pints and a Halloween pirate eye patch reveal a few clues. Arrr.

Wow! Best. Fucking. Rock. Band.

Ever.

UPDATE [02/11]: Some random camera phone photos are up on Flickr!