If you really want to confuse people about where the country is headed, say it with numbers. There is a certain magic about numbers and the spells they weave in many heads. Go to most conferences, for example. Even the most brilliant presentation in words may provoke only glassy stares — a PowerPoint slide with […]
2007
Posted inLifestyle, News/Politics
Politics in fiction: Yes or no?
It’s the eternal argument, isn’t it? Do South Africans have a responsibility to write political fiction? Or at least infuse their fiction with a political flavour, a current-affairs edge or some hint of HIV/Aids? I think not. But I just read an interesting review of my novel, Strange Nervous Laughter, that brought up this conundrum, […]
Posted inMedia, Tech
The future of media
If we want to understand how communications could change in the next 15 years, we must look back over the same period — to a time before the cellphone and the internet. Only then can we appreciate and prepare for the potential revolution that still faces us in the future. Here is a tale from […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Time for kings and queens to put on the gloves
International political summits, those huge events where heads of state gather to debate things such as international affairs and social integration, tend to have one common denominator everywhere in the world: most taxpayers have no interest in them. It’s not that taxpaying citizens are not concerned with those important issues their leaders discuss; it’s simply […]
Posted inBusiness, Lifestyle, Media, Tech
What is the meaning of Facebook?
There comes a time in a man’s life when biting another Zombie chump, waiting four days for your growing gift to turn into a money tree or refreshing the page so that you get status updates in your news feed doesn’t get you excited any more. It’s depressing to be so bored with Facebook that […]
Posted inBusiness, Tech
The service domain?
Last year sometime, I registered a handful of domain names with a South African company. Having finally got some of the basics done, I thought I would have some use for one of the domains. So I contacted my company, and lo and behold, someone else owned the domain name. I phoned the company and […]
Posted inGeneral
It’s all in the attitude
Yesterday was a fun day. I was offered an LG Viewty phone to play with and to comment on, and it’s a fine-looking phone. And I get to keep it. I am beyond tickled pink. I am tickled all the shades of the rainbow. Why the excessive celebrations, one might wonder? It’s because I am […]
Posted inLifestyle, Tech
It’s all in the attitude
Yesterday was a fun day. I was offered an LG Viewty phone to play with and to comment on, and it’s a fine-looking phone. And I get to keep it. I am beyond tickled pink. I am tickled all the shades of the rainbow. Why the excessive celebrations, one might wonder? It’s because I am […]
Posted inLifestyle
Sumophilia
A New Phenomenon: The winter of 2007 shall go down in the Sumo’s history as a time of boundless indulgence of the female kind. Allow me to elaborate, and in all that will follow, keep in mind that the Sumo is a bachelor. In the time leading to the winter of 2007, as the season […]
Posted inLifestyle
Engaging problem learners through digital storytelling
South Africa’s educators are severely stressed. In the classroom they face potential violence, dismal working conditions and massive workloads. Cases of educators being assaulted are becoming more commonplace. According to the Sunday Times: “The biggest dilemma facing educators today is how to deal with unruly charges while simultaneously maintaining their sanity, professionalism and dignity.” Hold […]
Posted inLifestyle
Blog party
I’ve been lucky enough to stumble on some rather extraordinary blogs of late, and I thought perhaps it was time to share them … Funnily enough, this whole blogging thing is still pretty new to me — I only discovered it a few months ago, and although at first I thought it was a bit […]
Posted inLifestyle
The Sunday ‘detox’
Irony. This was a word that was passed around quite a lot this past weekend. I am quite sure that the readers of this prestigious blog space are quite learned and know what the word means. For effect, though, I shall add the definition as defined by Dictionary.com. ioroony [ahy-ruh-nee, ahy-er-] — noun, plural -nies. […]