:: adventures of joburgboy ::

The power of music continues to amaze me. It has this wonderful ability to unite people and make them forget the differences between them. I saw this first hand when I went to the 46664 Concert with Kev in Joburg, and on the way back in the bus people just started breaking out into song, and the bus was filled with this wonderful air of unity and hope for the future. All the problems facing our country seemed to just disappear our the stinky exhaust pipe… Or rather, all the problems in our country were solved for those few moments.

 It was no surprise then that a similar event has just happened on a far larger scale. Read an article in the Economist today (http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?story_ID=10758160) about how the New York Philharmonic paid a visit to Pyongyang. One would never have thought that such animosity existed between America and North Korea, but on that particular night both flags were displayed prominently in the concert hall.

What was also poignant was the final song played called “Arirang,” a Korean song popular on both sides of the demilitarised zone. Clearly, it spoke of unity between the two Korea’s and would have without a doubt (even if just for a moment) sparked notions of concilliation between the two sides.

I think it’s amazing how a few notes and a few instruments can have the power to do that. And it’s obviously because music is a universal language, able to transcend borders and hate and instill an atmosphere of serenity and beauty to all who partake in it. And it’s because both music and song has the power to tune everyone to their emotions, be they happy or sad.

Oh shuddup. Yes it’s been forever since my last blog. But I do not care.

Life has been prancing along at full speed since the Joburgboy got back from Japan. The Joburgboy has already been to Durban and Cape Town, and has already had a trip to the hospital for a kidney stone. The Joburgboy is seemingly a 55 y/o male because 24 y/o males do not get kidney stones. And actually, the Joburgboy STILL has a kidney stone - the fucking thing is too large for it to pass, and it was stuck behind some bone. So the doctor stuck some funny foreign object ‘up there’ and the Joburgboy is due to go back into hospital so he can stick another foreign object ‘up there’ that will blast the stone into smaller pieces. It seems that the Joburgboy’s kidney really is quite the happening place…

Anyway, enough about me. If you don’t know me (ie… erm.. the Joburgboy), then I don’t know how much you’ll care about my kidney. It’s not really something one chats about over dinner, although the gory details (like cathetas and all that jazz) does tend to illicit dramatic responses from people……. 

Today I shall post a little bit of my creativity. When I create stuff like this, my mind wonders why on earth I am doing law. Some law students talk with great animation about the latest legal development, and the latest cases and Acts etc… I talk passionately about what Joburg needs to do to make it a world-class African city by 2030. People hear me talk about it, and they conclude (as do I) that I really should have done urban planning/design. Six years of law down the line, I feel that it’s a bit too late to change degree.

But I digress. Tokyo gave me a great deal of inspiration. It’s a city of many, many people, all tightly packed into a very close area that is spotless and mind-boggling….ly efficient. Particularly efficient is the public transport, which I fear my beloved Joburg could only hope to match. They have conductors at the end of each train making sure everything runs smoothly… We have unruly youths jumping out of trains and hanging under carriages whilst the train is in motion - just for kicks, and to ‘impress’ the girls.

Tokyo’s metro system is incredibly large, and one can get anywhere with it. It took us a while to get from where we were staying into the centre of Tokyo, and so along the way I used the notebook Marcel (my bf) gave me to construct Joburg’s subway system.

In my system, I would retain the present Gautrain structure. However, I do feel that the structure is far too limited, and I would extend it both towards the south and towards the east and west. These lines (the Gauteng Central and Airport lines) would form the skeleton of the system, and would run via high-speed trains that would get people from far flung areas quickly and efficiently into the centre of the city.

I then developed seven more lines that would not go as fast as the Gautrain, and that would connect areas inbetween these two major lines. The Blue Crane would form an outer circle line around the city, whilst the Ubuntu line would form an inner circle line. Notice also the Soweto line - I feel an important development given the growth of this mini-city. At present, the Gautrain totally ignores Soweto, which I think is a grave mistake considering most people who use public transport come from Soweto.

I also decided to dream really big, and decided that Johannesburg would have three major airports, ala New York. These would be linked to major subway stations by airport monorail. OR Tambo and Lanseria would be serve both international and domestic traffic, whilst Grand Central would function more as a low-cost airline hub.

I have yet to finish the entire system, however, because I have not yet done the tram systems for both the Joburg CBD and for the Sandton CBD. The tram systems would function more as a hop-on, hop-off system and would not be as ‘formal’ as the subways would be. They would be free, and would encourage greater development of both Sandton and Joburg as financial centres.

Below one can find the picture…. Let me know what you think? It’s best that you open it up in a new window because it’s beeeg.