General

The 2010 Tri-Nation has been a disappointment. Some would even call it a disaster, and I would not disagree with them much. See for me it’s not that the Boks surrendered their crown to the All-Blacks. Or that we lost so heavily in the Antipodes. John Smit losing his 100th Test in such heart-breaking fashion […]

Its symptoms are quick, tricky to pick but all hope is not lost. After my crack squad of praat kak scientists and I dug into this terrible malaise (research actually began in earnest before the public-servants strike [who are they serving neow?] began … hence the delay in publishing) affecting society, these are some of […]

I was lucky enough to be invited to the US Embassy in Cape Town last week to meet Fran Drescher of The Nanny fame, and to hear her speak. Yes, she does sound like she does in the show, and yes, she does laugh like she does in the show. But, what I didn’t know […]

You know something is wrong when Jackson Mthembu comes across as the reasonable voice in any debate. The media is its own worst enemy in this whole brouhaha regarding potential media freedom infringements in the Protection of Information Bill and the mooted Media Appeals Tribunal. It should not ever be the most difficult thing to […]

Recent events in South Africa (like the looming attempts to control the media), together with a comment by “Maria” on one of my previous posts, have set me wondering if we are seeing the beginnings of what Arundhati Roy, Indian social activist and novelist, called “creeping fascism”? Referring (in 2003) to what was happening under […]

Since 1994, there has been a lot of talk about South Africa’s lost generation — the Y generation that is apathetic, apolitical, consumerist and vulnerable to a range of social ills, such as substance abuse and Aids. More recently, we have heard talk of the so-called born-frees growing up in ignorance of the hardships that […]

Pitso Mosimane announced a strong squad for the 2012 Afcon qualifier against Niger on Saturday. It is encouraging to see Jingles including youngsters like SuperSport United striker Kermit Erasmus, Daylon Claasen, Keegan Ritchie and Andile Jali. It shows that the coach is not only worried about getting results now, but is also planning for the […]

There are two words commonly used in South Africa which I really, really can’t stand. The one is the word “comrade”. The other one is the word “bokkie”. “Bokkie” is often used in insipid Afrikaans love songs by commercial singers (presumably because it rhymes with “sokkie”). In that way, it fulfils the same function that […]

I awoke on Sunday awash with a dazed feeling (thanks Bokke … see previous post) which, after logging onto a well-known cricket website, was exasperated a thousand fold. News had broken that Pakistan bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer, among other team mates, had been accused of “spot-fixing” by a middle man sourced by the […]

I happened to be in a mate’s car driving past Loftus Versveld after the game against Australia, and what struck me was the sombre attitude of the supporters leaving the heartland of Bulle rugby. I’ve been privileged enough to watch the last two Tests against Australia and France at Newlands, and the difference in mindset […]

So I have to change her name. Well, at least to the name I have chosen to use in a semi-autobiographical novel I am writing, tentatively titled Shame. Well I remember being attracted to Alexis in what was then a rural part of Boksburg. She had a younger brother, Cosmo, and the three of us […]

Winning the league is Antonio Lopez Habas’s first mandate as Mamelodi Sundowns coach, he can then activate the clause in his contract of renewing for an extra year. Last year Hristo Stoichkov failed to deliver. Many expected him to win the league when the team started winning and disposing the big guns, especially after the […]