Submitted by Bryony Green “We hope the transition will be a peaceful one, relatively peaceful, and that Mr Mugabe will step down with dignity, gracefully.” — Archbishop Desmond Tutu Desmond Tutu, in his uncompromised integrity, has continually called for peace and unity in Zimbabwe. His latest call, however, begs the questions of what exactly a […]
2008
Posted inLifestyle, Media
I read You magazine
There! I said it! Scandalous, isn’t it? Only, that “read” is past tense. Read. I read it, once, last week. And admittedly, the only reason I bought it was because my novel, Strange Nervous Laughter, was favourably reviewed in it (how’s that for fame? I’m reviewed in You magazine!) But I have to admit, I […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Sometimes I wish Mugabe were dead
Does that make me a bad person? I know that one does not say these things in polite company. Even in less-than-polite company, I suppose. But I do wish he would die of old age and not wake up in the morning. I think it would be better for him and for Zimbabwe. I know […]
Posted inLifestyle
Ten places I’d sooner live than have a green card
The way America touts its green card about the world and around the internet in “green-card lotteries”, as if we were all desperate to live in the US, gives me the zig. What is it about the “American Way” that is so off-putting? Is it the way Americans love to pat themselves on the back […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Stick to your guns, Mr Tsvangirai, for the sake of Zimbabwe and Africa
If ever a country and a continent needed one man to display superhuman courage and fortitude, then that country is Zimbabwe and that man is Morgan Richard Tsvangirai. Victory in Zimbabwe’s presidential election, undiluted by side-deals and concessions to Mugabe, will signal to other African tyrants that the will of the people, regardless of their […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Pregnant man turn your stomach? Have a peep at Thomas
Hawaiian native Thomas Beatie, formerly a woman who underwent gender reassignment surgery but retained his reproductive organs, is now expecting a child. Mazeltov! May you only know simchas. I can only imagine the nachos of raising a daughter, marrying her off to this genius and then finding this story breaking out across the globe. (The […]
Posted inGeneral
Material wealth, happiness and alienated youth
A number of recent events in the United Kingdom, as well as the United States of America, seem to suggest that a generally high level of material prosperity does not necessarily go hand in hand with human happiness, but, more disturbingly, that at least sometimes it seems to produce conditions that actually undermine happiness among […]
Posted inBusiness, Lifestyle
Public open space — my right of access!
Last weekend I spent some time collecting signatures for a petition to stop the development of the Sea Point Pavilion in Cape Town. The development being planned consists of a hotel on one side of the Sea Point swimming pool and a three-storey shopping complex, restaurants, a gymnasium and other retail outlets on the other […]
Posted inLifestyle, News/Politics
Job reservation and egg on my blackface
Job reservation, which ensured jobs for white Afrikaners, especially in the civil service, was always one of the more insidious aspects of grand apartheid, but even something as foul as this can have its funny side. Flip forward a few decades to the new brand of job reservation — “whites, especially males, need not apply”, […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Champion Chief Justice Langa
Top marks to South Africa’s Chief Justice Pius Langa for coming in to bat for the independence of the media and the important role the judiciary can play in this regard. Last Sunday he said that the judiciary should “jealously protect” the media and their right to free expression, because both the media and the […]
Posted inBusiness, Lifestyle
Property versus renting among the youth
I am currently in the process of buying a home. It has been one of the most time-consuming and irritating times of my life; not only because the prices of houses are ridiculous, but also due to the fact that banks make it almost impossible for one to get a home loan. One is treated […]
Posted inLifestyle
Thanks for coming. Please be my saviour
Like almost everyone I know, I braved the sun, the heat, the mud, a sea of emo kids, dodgy food stalls, dodgier loos and all the other delights that characterised this year’s My Cokefest just so that I could see Muse. I had heard reports from friends that their live show had to be seen […]