General

It’s June 4 1993. The first Ashes Test has entered its second day as Shane Warne steps up to bowl to Mike Gatting. The ball pitches nearly half a metre fair way outside leg-stump, bites, bounces and turns. The rest has now become folklore. The Ball of the Century was the threshold from which Shane […]

It has always been the case that technology is seductive — at least in the sense of persuading, without much effort, humans to yield to its power. And here power does not so much entail power over people, but also, especially, empowerment of people. In this sense technology is not simply a set of tools, […]

Their intentions may well be scarily misguided, and they certainly have a lesser chance of pulling it off than Province players stopping a rampaging Willem Alberts, but would an ANC Youth League clos-er of the Twitter really be such a bad thing? Let me own up early doors to being a member/user/Twit of the ubiquitous […]

While the National Prosecuting Authority and Gauteng police continue their investigation into the alleged gang rape of a 15-year-old pupil at Jules High School in Jeppestown, the country is sitting on a ticking time bomb. As a specialised criminal attorney I am fully aware that the state has to do its job properly. This means […]

Sebastian Deisler had to retire from football because of depression at the age of 27. When he was supposed to have been at the peak of his powers, he was battling the demons of depression and after 15 injuries and five operations he decided enough was enough. In January 2007, the German midfielder decided to […]

“Wheeet!” they whistled. “Hey sexy!” Two lithe lasses in bikinis were crooning after me. In my slim twenties I got that quite a bit (especially with regard to my buns, or so I was told), then less and less. I’ve lost fifty kilograms now, most of it in six months, and am getting some of […]

Mamelodi Sundowns are flying without wings, the sky is really the only limit for them when it comes to winning the league title. It is coach Antonio Lopez’s mandate to clinch the league this season and he is right on track. The Brazilians have won six of their seven league games, losing only to other […]

I so badly wanted to like this phone. In my world, Nokia just hasn’t cracked it since the E71. That phone rocked my world. Nothing has since, and it seems that until Symbian has been rudely shoved aside, this situation will remain. Here’s a quick hit summary of the Nokia N8, with my fairly simple […]

The rugby world is slowly edging to its Holy Grail, one which only appears every four years. Plans are concocted, armies assembled and opponents vanquished in the four-year dash for the Rugby World Cup, a tournament which forms the primordial soup of international rugby. The Tri-Nations, Six Nations, Super 12/14/15 and Heineken Cup are all […]

I stare at the messy kitchen used by seven people where we live here in Auckland and see the challenge. Long ago I learned to see domestic work as a form of meditation. It can also be an exercise in gratitude. As I pick up rubbish and put it into the large garbage bag I […]

The other day a colleague asked me to present a proposal for him at a meeting because I supposedly was an “expert at democracy”. I demurred in the face of this description, but afterwards thought that I should have pointed out to him that the notion of an “expert in democracy” is a contradiction in […]

People are quick to blame SMS language or “textspeak” for a rise in incorrect spelling and grammar among children and adults alike. It is also seen by parents and teachers as a barrier keeping children from learning English properly, contributing to the degradation in the English language. However, people are failing to see the opportunities […]