So poor old Sydney Gordon (65) of Johannesburg is suing Nissan South Africa because he bought a Nissan NP 200 from them for R131 342 on February 22 2012 and a year later discovered that it had “Renault” stamped all over it. He must have gone to a lot of trouble stripping the bakkie to identify […]
General
Posted inGeneral
Incentives can help
Waseem Sirkhot has been involved in community service since the age of 12 and is as passionate about it today. Only now he is better equipped to make a difference with the help of three friends from the Lenasia community; Ismail Moola, Mohamed Jassat and Ridwan Mia. Their mission: Empower the youth. Affording them an […]
Posted inBusiness, Environment, Equality, General, Lifestyle, Media, News/Politics
Ms Joburg 2013’s most ardent wish
I claim I love Johannesburg more than anyone else on the planet. I was born here. I eat these streets. I declare myself Ms Joburg 2013 — for today (you can have it tomorrow) — and here, for my inaugural address, is my ardent wish for our town: On orders from the executive mayor of […]
Posted inGeneral, Tech
How I discovered the grand unifying theory
It was quite simple, really. I discovered the grand unifying theory of the universe just now, during teatime. And I wasn’t even drinking tea. I was drinking coffee. Cappuccino, to be exact. I have always wanted to discover something big, such as the grand unifying theory of the universe, but I did not expect it […]
Posted inGeneral
Familiar places and foreign spaces
After a particularly strenuous semester, particularly regarding postgraduate students’ work, and on the eve of a much-needed overseas trip to a conference in Europe, I am reminded, again, of Michel de Certeau’s wonderful exploration of spatial practices in The Practice of Everyday Life (University of California Press, 1988), on which I have written here before […]
Posted inEnvironment, General, News/Politics
Lion hunts and other things we don’t like
All of us have that button. That thing that makes us see red, the thing we hate, which if we were in charge we’d ban immediately. In the past, people in power have been deeply offended by the notion that anyone who wasn’t white and male could have the vote. That gay couples could marry. […]
Posted inGeneral, Lifestyle, Media
Writing about not writing
It’s been almost five weeks since I last wrote a column for this blog. Buzzing on enthusiasm after my page initially went live, I wrote two columns in my first week and tracked the page hits with the same concern as I would my own pulse. The initial post-publishing glow lasted longer than I imagined. […]
Posted inGeneral
Saving puppies can help
The Ark Animal Centre in Fourways, Johannesburg, has made it its mission to rescue abandoned and abused dogs and then help find them suitable homes. The centre offers specialised rescue, rehabilitation, care and re-homing of puppies and pregnant dogs. On average Ark Animal Centre re-homes 50 to 60 dogs a month and takes in thousands […]
Posted inGeneral, Lifestyle, News/Politics
Whiteness is thicker than blood
Mike van Graan’s Rainbow Scars describes the fortunes and destinies of blacks who are raised by whites and those condemned to live in the townships. Much as the play explores relations between a white mother and an adopted black daughter, the most interesting undercurrent is the theme of black identity and whether skin colour is […]
Posted inBusiness, General, Lifestyle
The curse of being liked by the wrong people
There is a fundamental belief in the field of liberal arts that art has an intrinsic value. Marxist theory made out a good case for art being merely a commodity with a market value like any other, but the notion of inherent value refuses to die. Cultural relativism, similarly, has attempted to connect the value […]
Posted inGeneral
Teaching photography can help
It’s no secret that photography is a powerful medium of expression. So powerful that it’s helping Bernard Viljoen, founder and creator of I Was Shot in Joburg, transform the way vulnerable kids in Johannesburg see the world. “It started in June of 2009,” Viljoen says, “Using my photographic skills and talent to give of my […]
Posted inEquality, General, News/Politics
Protest and phatic communication: An account of a South African conversation
“Are you going to write about this week’s protests?”, the writer asks as the waitress takes away his empty plate from the table in the Newlands restaurant where they have been enjoying a sunny Cape Town Sunday lunch. “No”, the professor of private law replies tersely. “What’s the use?”, he thinks to himself, before continuing: […]