The problem with South Africa

After reading a column in the Toronto Star today about crime in Johannesburg as it gets set to host the FIFA World Cup, an interesting paradox occurred to me: since big ticket events like the Olympic Games or the World Cup are awarded to host cities/countries years in advance - in the case of South Africa, a decade - based on current data and projected future outlooks, what happens if a host fails to clean up its act? Being named the host venue for an event of this stature is never without conditions. There is always a list of "you have to do this, this, and this, and fix that, that, that." But honestly, are those conditions really enforceable?

When South Africa was awarded the World Cup in 2000, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime had ranked the country second in assaults and murders per capita in the world and first for rapes. Apparently, that wasn't enough to scare off the FIFA selection committe. After all, they were up against Morocco and Egypt, not traditionally countries of high esteem when it comes to peace and security.

Fast-forward to 2010 and things haven't really improved. Today, South Africa is ranked second in murder only to Columbia, a country engaged in an undeclared civil war. There are 50 murders each day in the country, 18,000 per year on average. In addition, South Africa is ranked number one in the world for carjackings, an especially troubling statistic for a country about to host hundreds of thousands of tourists from all over the world. Indeed, not much has changed since hosting duties were first awarded. Should we not find that troubling?

When Vancouver hosted the Olympic Winter Games this year, there was a great deal of negative press and controversy surrounding the poor weather, dangerously-challenging courses, and faulty ceremonies. They were big stories then, but taking the magnitude of hosting an event like the Olympics into consideration, they were (for the most part) relatively-minor hiccups. Now, perhaps the 2010 FIFA World Cup will be all about soccer. Perhaps the media will be lamenting poor grass quality on the fields, traffic congestion, and cramped athletes' quarters. Let's hope. But maybe, and it is a real possibility, the coverage will be much worse.

Because if international soccer fans are carjacked, assaulted, raped, and murdered at the rate that statistics demonstrate is a reality in South Africa, that will be a story that not even the world's most popular sport can overshadow.

Daily Image

This is Associated Press reporter Rich Matthews diving into the Gulf of Mexico oil spill on Monday. He was the lone individual to venture into the actual spill after the other members of his diving team refused to get into the water without Hazmat suits on. Read his brilliant first-hand account of the experience here.

Review: Dirty Picture

Pop music is often pornographic. Pop music videos are almost ALWAYS pornographic. But it is rare for a pop song/video to be as unapologetic and unabashedly pornographic as the latest single from Taio Cruz, "Dirty Picture". This Paul Oakenfold-inspired trance/techno hybrid sound is a feast for the ears and the theme itself is one that, in the age of camera phones and webcams, is familiar to many of us and makes for a not-so-surprisingly catchy hook for a dance floor grind-fest. And that's why I love pop music - it's not afraid to express itself in ways that arguably lower the standards of decency in an already indecent medium.

And hey, anything that features Ke$ha is audio-visual gold to me.

Nike Football

I am not a soccer fan. I am about as excited for the World Cup as I am for the next Nickelback single. Leave it to Nike to change my mind.

Nike has always been at the cutting edge of marketing and brand strategy. Their over-priced, under-made goods have enjoyed explosive sales for decades mostly due to their sleek campaigns and celebrity endorsements. Little I own is Nike, but I still love a great Nike ad.

This three-minute spot for Nike Football was developed by Amsterdam ad agency Wieden + Kennedy and directed by Academy Award nominated director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. It makes me want to watch soccer. And as I mentioned before, I am not a soccer fan.

Also, watch for the cameo by Kobe Bryant.


Thank you to my friend Andy Veilleux for bringing this ad to my attention.

Daily Quote

I wanted to run this yesterday, but I already had Jack Layton deriding indoor lakes for the win. So here's your Daily Quote at 12:01AM.

“Distracted at work. Couldn't call in sick — not honest. Can you call in famous? If so, do you only get 15 minutes off?”

- Marc MacKenzie
A Twitter post that won this Canadian medical physicist the Hay Festival of Literature and the Arts contest for the "most beautiful tweet in the world."

Read the full story here.

Daily Image

Here's Lindsay Lohan leaving an MTV Awards after-party on Sunday where her court-ordered SCRAM bracelet went off. As a result, a warrant was issued today for her arrest citing five separate violations of her parole.

Oh Lindsay, when will you learn?

The LeBron of baseball?

I know sports doesn't necessarily fall under the banner of Create & Commerce (although it is technically entertainment) but you have to see this kid.

Stephen Strasburg is a 21-year-old pitcher for the Washington Nationals. He was drafted in 2009 and signed a record $15.1 MILLION contract. After only 11 minor league starts, he made his major league debut tonight against the Pittsburgh Pirates. In seven innings of work, Strasburg struck out 14 batters (a season high for the Nationals), gave up only two runs (on a two-run home run), allowed only four hits, and didn't walk anybody. Of those 14 strikeouts, seven of them came from the seven last consecutive batters he faced.

The Washington Nationals, who are ranked 21st in the majors in attendance (very low), sold every single ticket to the game and even started making up tickets by placing seats in the luxury boxes and squeezing every last inch of standing-room out of Nationals Park. Impressive.

ESPN and Sports Illustrated are calling Strasburg the LeBron James or Sydney Crosby of baseball. He is arguably the most hyped, promising rookie in the history of baseball.

MLB.com won't let me post the video, but follow this link to watch Strasburg's 14 debut strikeouts. It's...phenomenal.

C&C Review: "Alejandro" music video

When The Fame was first released in Summer 2008, I instantly fell in love with Lady Gaga. Her sound was new, danceable, and had that 80's flavor that I had been filling my iPod with for years. I played that album for six solid months.

Then, Gaga unchained her persona and let it fly. That's when I started having doubts about this new pop prodigy. I thought, "great, she's going to be just another shock value pop star." And I was more or less right. Following in the footsteps of 80's phenoms like Madonna and Prince with her over-the-top outfits and outrageous soundbites, I began distancing myself from Lady Gaga fandom.

When The Fame Monster came out in late 2009 and to me sounded like the B-side of The Fame, I was done. I figured Gaga was a one-trick, one-sound pony who was all too eager to cash in on the initial success of her debut album by releasing a hastily thrown together followup. Coupled with her puzzling public persona, I felt I could no longer see Gaga the Artist. I was only seeing Gaga the Circus Act. I was turned off.

Having said that, today Lady Gaga released her new video for "Alejandro", the third single off of The Fame Monster. I didn't mind "Bad Romance". I could dance to "Telephone", but after that "sexy prison with Beyonce randomly cruising in a drop top" video flop that followed, I awaited Alejandro's video coming-out party with staunch pessimism.

I'm not crazy about the song. The sound is very reminiscent of Ace of Base's "All That She Wants". It has a fun, uptempo Europop edge that's highly danceable, but I never gave it's airplay much attention.

But then came the video...

And let me tell you, this is what music videos are all about. It opens in a seemingly dystopic totalitarian dance floor with costumed dancers inspiring a Nazi-Germany-meets-Star Wars aesthetic. At 8:43, the video is long, reminding us of the glory days of music videos, when they weren't singing heads on a beach/in a club/in a Lamborghini Gallardo, but were intricately adapted stories. Michael Jackson would be proud.

The choreography is super-sexy, the costumes too. The camera work is fantastic - with ease, the camera soars above the dancing ensemble only to swing back down, wrap around, as if it itself is a part of the choreography. The style is edgy, dark, gray, but has a masterfully-colourful energy and power. Director Steven Klein has crafted a piece of cinema that is Gaga but not to the point of ridiculousness. It is grounded and controlled and a superb watch.

So, I suppose there is always room for redemption. I want to be a Lady Gaga fan. She is like an old-world 80's pop star gem sent forward through time to rescue us from flat beats, champagne, mini-skirts, and autotune. And even though she's often over-the-top - Charlie Murphy might call her a "habitual line-stepper" - maybe that's what pop music needs right now to break away from formulaic hip-hop/R&B-inspired dance music.

Love her or hate her, Lady Gaga is here. And as long as she comes out with a video like this every couple of singles, I can easily be swayed back into her camp.

Daily Quote

“We have a government here that has to create an artificial lake when Canada has more lakes than just about any other country in the world. It is the taxpayers who are going to end up at the bottom of the fake lake with a fake Muskoka behind them. How can the Prime Minister justify wasting taxpayers’ dollars this way? It is absurd!”

- Jack Layton, New Democratic Party Leader
June 7, 2010 during question period in the House of Commons in response to the Conservative government's plan to build a $2 MILLION artificial lake in the Direct Energy Centre for the upcoming G20 Sumit.

Read the full story here.

Global Peace Index

The 2010 Global Peace Index, published by the Institute for Economics and Peace based in Australia, has been released. Canada has been ranked 14th on the list, with New Zealand taking the top spot, the US at 85th, and Iraq being rated dead-last at 149th. The Institute says the world is a less peaceful place this year compared to last year, fueled primarily by a rise in crime and civil unrest related to the global financial crisis.

View the complete GPI interactive world map here.