General

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 […]

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, […]

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 […]

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 […]

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. […]

or You are about to be exposed to South African rugby’s Axis of Evil, its administration, where rules and agreements are made and signed off by SA Rugby and despite their creation, are flouted with impunity, as also the SA Rugby constitution which requires all unions to uphold agreements made at the President’s Council and […]

For those of you whom I have not been able to say a personal “best wishes” to, let me take this opportunity to wish you a relaxed and safe festive season, wherever you might be going, or staying. May it refresh you, energise you and afford you new insight and perspective into your life, your […]

When an irate Iraqi TV journalist flung his shoes at US president George W Bush during a press conference it seemed to me that a new era in political awards had dawned. I mean what better way to “celebrate” political achievement, or lack thereof, than to present African “leaders” with an order of the boot: […]

I’ve often commented on the vacuous nature of social media. Echo chambers and shallow content — its like “small talk” on a volume never before experienced. Why, just yesterday a friend of mine and I did a little experiment to attract attention on FaceBook by commenting on a status update. Sure enough, four or five […]

Just read Breyten Breytenbach’s piece in Harpers. If you don’t have anything nice to say, shut up, is not a piece of advice I’ve generally taken. But this time I’ll make an exception and talk about another poet, the American Carl Sandburg, and his ode to Chicago, where he worked as a reporter. If you […]

What a long, strange year it’s been. South Africa’s preparations for the 2010 World Cup have been marked by extraordinary highs and lows. Nobody said it was going to be easy and for South Africa, gearing to host the biggest event single-code sporting event on the planet, 2008 has certainly proved to be more than […]

One of the most enjoyable things that one can share with one’s wife, husband, lover or partner, must surely be reading with and to each other. And what better form of literature to share in this fashion than the ever “novel” literary phenomenon, to wit, a novel. Sure, if both of you happen to be […]