General

It would seem the historical significance of June 16 is fast fading away. I am not too sure if the dawn of freedom and democracy in 1994 contributed to the prevalent negative meaning of the day that supposedly changed the course of history. I guess we all know that the attainment of freedom can make […]

So … The new Nokia still pulses its white light, but it works! I have just sweated and peddled my way through a spinning class, yelling instructions and desperately aware that I cannot cheat as my heart rate monitor is measuring my every beat. I looked dead impressive with my phone strapped to my arm […]

Having supervised a number of Chinese media students’ work at master’s level, most of which involved a reflection of some kind on certain aspects of their own culture — for example the effect of globalisation on the attitude of young Chinese people to traditional Chinese values — I was glad to be able to visit […]

I remember the first time a colleague suggested throwing money at a problem. The same colleague then went on to suggest that if those in the opposing caucus did not tow our line, then they must be made to remember who wielded the chequebook. I rejected both of these suggestions at the time, as the […]

By Roger Diamond Oil is filthy old stuff that causes nothing but pollution all the way through our use of it, but why, oh why do we keep going back for more. Pretty simply, we’re addicted. Whether it is good for us or not, and in the long term it undoubtedly is not, we are […]

Five years have passed since that extraordinary moment in Zurich when Fifa President Sepp Blatter declared that South Africa had earned the rights to host the biggest party on the planet. And with exactly one year remaining before the kick-off of the quadrennial showpiece of international soccer, South Africa can rightfully stake its claim as […]

Nobody believes Minister Radebe when he says the judiciary must transform to reflect the racial, gender and demographic reality of the country. Everybody thinks this is about making sure the ANC never has to go through another Zuma-Shaik fiasco. But the ANC says this impending transformation is in fact about reflecting the racial, gender and […]

About a week ago I went up to Mtunzini to visit the cable station that recently finished construction. Seacom is an underwater fibre-optic cable being installed along the coast of East Africa — a tremendous boost for all the countries affected. When it comes to internet bandwidth, Africa has always been left behind, thanks to […]

It’s no secret that the web has opened up an exciting world of information. Curiosity piqued? Type it into Google, hit enter and et voila, instant knowledge. But that frontier has been pushed even further with a new web application that makes systematic knowledge immediately quantifiable by anyone. I recently finished a project for a […]

A friend told me about a house he was building. It took months to get it nearly complete. Lots of work by lots of people, creating something of beauty that everyone could admire. A week before completion vandals broke into the property and ripped the place to pieces, just for fun. Vandalism sits on the […]

The decade-long crisis in Zimbabwe has affected the psyche and social fabric of the nation. There were senseless and callous murderous acts that today dominate the news headlines and community talks. From Beitbridge to Victoria Falls, Gokwe to Zaka, stories abound about rampant killings and general decay in morality. Not only have these been normalised […]

I think it’s really important to begin by saying that we create categories and labels as part of the way our brain functions. This allows us to process information. Judging, evaluating and categorising are some of the ways we process information around us. So what’s really important is not the concept of “not labelling” but […]