There’s a virtual ring that runs around Vienna’s inner city reflecting where the Austrian empire’s rulers once held sway and where Hitler arrived to a tumultuous welcome from some 250 000 Austrians about 70 years ago. In relative terms, that was almost yesterday. Today, there is an art exhibition in the city called Restitution reflecting […]
2008
Posted inGeneral
Katlego Zabala: A South African superstar
Over the weekend I noticed with some amusement that ANCYL president Julius Malema cracked the Mampara of the Year Award from the Sunday Times. No doubting that the youth leader has the credentials for this dubious honour just as there is no doubting his vastly improved approach to the job at hand. Malema has shown […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Ravaged Zimbabwe’s tourism pipe dream
Looking on the web for some info about Zimbabwe (I’m visiting the Victoria Falls in a few days time), I stumbled across an article dated the 12 December in the Zimbabwean state-owned propaganda machine The Herald about how that beleaguered nation intends to make tourism a key foreign currency earner, increasing its contribution to the […]
Posted inSport
Steyn and Duminy, together in perfect harmony
If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich. — John F Kennedy When the walls of apartheid came crashing down in 1994 many racists predicted the end of South African sporting dominance or competitiveness in rugby and cricket, while football, which they perceived to […]
Posted inNews/Politics
On Breytenbach, Mandela and fatherhood
Like many people, I had an ambivalent relationship with my father, not the least because of his love for alcohol, usually cane or vodka, from what I can remember. He drank excessively and had an explosive temper when he was under the influence. Other than that he was a good man; but, thinking back to […]
Posted inGeneral
Will aliens reveal themselves in the New Year?
I always approach New Year’s Eve with the same question, the question that haunts me at about this time of year. Like a moth to the flame I feel its desire (with apologies to Janet Jackson), its desire to be answered. Will 2009 be the year that alien life forms reveal themselves? Snigger if you will, […]
Posted inBusiness
Telkom: SA’s ugly underbelly
For years nations have been, rightly or wrongly, judged by their products. Coca-Cola and Big Macs have been iconic of the USA. Rolls-Royce and Aston Martin symbolised the UK. Exquisite wines, Yves Saint Laurent and grand cuisine epitomise France. Precision engineering and the finest quality are hallmarks of German products such as Mercedes-Benz. The reverse […]
Posted inGeneral
Wrong Mr Mantashe, invasion of Zimbabwe is unnecessary
African National Congress secretary general Gwede Mantashe told editors and journalists at a breakfast in Durban that neither tougher sanctions nor an invasion of Zimbabwe were on the cards. “I don’t think invading Zimbabwe or sanctions would work”. The ANC won’t “subscribe to an invasion and preferred to deal with Zimbabwe on a government-to-government level […]
Posted inGeneral
Stressed in South Africa
I’ve become too soft for Jo’burg. That’s the conclusion I am forced to reach after having been back for nearly three weeks. It’s not normal to be chugging this much rescue remedy, is it? Granted, I am feeling pretty chilled as I type this while sitting at the dining room table, a hot December afternoon […]
Posted inGeneral
What is life?
The phenomenon of life has puzzled and inspired artists, scientists and philosophers for centuries. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, written in the early 19th century in the romantic sphere of influence (of which her husband, the poet Shelley, was also a part), is but one of many texts that displays a fascination with life, and its creation. […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Africa in 2008: A short review
It has been said that evaluated experience is the best teacher. Assuming that is true, there is a lot that can be gained from looking back on 2008 and trying to glean whatever lessons experience may have to offer. I live far away, on a small island off the coast of Europe. But even from […]
Posted inLifestyle
Songs for the road
There’s something about a song that can take you right back to a moment. Compared to photographs, which are often a disappointing record of a holiday, music can bring your holiday back to life years later. This is why one should spend at least as much time in selecting which music to take along as […]