Make Life Count
Sleeping in on weekends ended the day my son was born. At eight years old, now, he drags himself out of bed from Monday to Friday, sometimes trying to get an extra ten minutes by crawling beneath the blankets in my bed when he comes to say good morning. On Saturdays and Sundays however, he’s been known to get up at 05:30/06:00 to start his day, and often wants company. When I asked him why he wakes so early on weekends, his response was simple and, uncomfortably logical: “weekends are my days and so I want more time to do the things I like, which is why I wake up earlier.” As they say, kids...
Showmax Steps Into The Arena
The music industry has been called ‘ground zero’ for true digital disruption of an industry. Being a music fiend, I have followed, and participated in the evolution of music access, jumping onto nearly every platform, especially now with streaming leading the way. I have, or have had, accounts on simfy Africa, Apple Music, Deezer, Tidal, Nokia Music and even Spotify, in addition to Soundcloud, Bandcamp, and online radio through TuneIn Radio and RapStation. In the last few years, video seems to be following suit. Traditionally a big lover of series as much as the next person, in the days of...
Win: The Exclusive The Glenlivet Legacy Series
Example. This is what so many of us need. No human being is perfect yet there is still much to be gained from insights into another person’s journey – their choices, their actions, etc. We are each on our own path, responsible for the trajectory of our life but in the words of Otto van Bismarck, “the wise man learns from the mistakes of others.” Sometimes, you just want to hear someone else’s story to confirm that you are on the right track, or simply as inspiration to help you to continue to drive forward in those moments when your motivation is flagging. It’s also important to understand...
Telling Stories At My World Of Tomorrow
The evolution and, in some instances, disruption of media platforms has thrown the world into perpetual flux. The cries of this being dead and that being the future reverberate around the world endlessly. But, when we look at the reality, particularly from a business perspective, it isn’t that clear-cut, even more so in Africa. TV, radio, magazine, newspaper, websites, social media, etc. are all undergoing constant change and with the level of innovation the world is experiencing, there may be something just around the corner that will create even greater turmoil. We are just trying to find...
How Are You Living?
For most of us, the journey is planned out even before we actually start living. You learn to crawl, walk, run. You go to kindergarten, primary school, high school and then tertiary. You get a job, build a career, hopefully, live in between. While the world has been rapidly evolving and the idea of ‘work’ or ‘job’ has evolved as well, we still operate within the paradigm we always have. Having worked in multiple industries and positions, I was often told I wasn’t qualified enough or too qualified for certain positions, particularly within the corporate space. And this is after doing the...
Don’t Get Speared
Human beings are flawed. This is part of our charm. It is at the core of who each of us is. Unfortunately, no-one is perfect. And our creations often have flaws. It is impossible to create universal perfection. For everything we create, there are those who find ways around them. Our intentions aren’t always pure because, when we create, we often look to satisfy our own specific needs which aren’t always necessarily the collective’s need. While, in the early years, we fluctuated between panic and apathy when it comes to privacy and security, the digital and social technology overload as...
Top 10 SA Entertainment Blogs
I have always found anything that comes with a ranking extremely subjective and, therefore, open to discussion/ debate/ disagreement. But I am not so foolish as to look a gift horse in the mouth. The people over at Buzz South Africa have put together a Top 10 Outstanding Entertainment Blogs In South Africa 2015 infographic and have included this site on the list, which I am grateful for. I've been running it since 2009 but, I must confess, have often been erratic with it due to life. One day I will get round to running the editorial calendar that I have in my head. It is encouraging that...
Shout, Build, Smile
SHOUT, the non-profit organisation founded by Kabelo Mabalane and Danny K in 2007, has launched the third song to raise funds to help in the struggle against crime in South Africa. Established following the tragic murder of legendary South African reggae musician Lucky Dube, SHOUT has been focused on building and stocking of libraries in primary schools around South Africa. The first three libraries have been setup in Soweto, Mitchells Plain and Phalaborwa. The first song was a cover of the Tears For Fears song Shout while the second song was a cover of the song You’re The Voice, made famous...
Jaguar XE Coming To South Africa
Jaguar has always had a certain appeal. An appeal that comes from an air of elegance, luxury and class coupled with an underlying edge and mystery, especially in the sportier models. Or perhaps that’s just my British schooling (in Lesotho) speaking. I have never been much of a car nut. I have covered many kilometres driving around Southern Africa and have generally focused on driveability, comfort, design and functionality. Aesthetics are important to me. A couple of years ago, a second-hand Jaguar X-Type made its way into our garage and was part of the family for 6 wonderful years. When we...
99 Problems With Instax
The Fujifilm instax mini 8 is a nifty little retro camera that takes instant pictures. I was lucky enough to get one as a gift at a Club Med event and I am loving playing with it, although my children probably love it more. Steve and I chat about it in this episode of the Art of Life. We also chat about Ali Graham’s book 99 Problems, which I had to pick up after following his Tumblr blog for a while. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmiHpc0sRF0&feature=youtu.be
Put In The Work
I have realised that, increasingly, there are things people do on this social and digital media driven world that do not make sense to me. Actually, not just in the man-made cloud universe but also in the physical realm, but this isn’t about that. This confusion is made even more complicated because there are times when I inadvertently do some things that feel very much like the actions that don’t make sense to me. As a professional working in different industries, including building communities around brands, using primarily content and communications strategies, sharing is an important...
Microsoft Mobile’s Affordability Strategy
The Transition Following the purchase of Nokia’s Devices and Services division for US$7.3million and rebranding it Microsoft Mobile Oy, Microsoft has continued to build on the Lumia range, which included the 800 and 1020 (with its 41 megapixel camera). Since completion of the acquisition in April last year, they have launched, in the SA market, the Lumia 930 (June 2014), the Lumia 630 (June 2014), the dual-sim Lumia 730 (October 2014) and the first Microsoft-branded Lumia 535 (January 2015). While we are still waiting for what could be considered a ‘flagship’ Microsoft-branded Lumia device,...
Digital Crates: Summertime Mixtape 6
In 2010, DJ Jazzy Jeff and MICK (then Mick Boogie) collaborated to release the Summertime Mixtape Vol 1, which fittingly opened with the track Summertime by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. It includes: Kool & The Gang – Summer Madness, Quincy Jones – Summer In The City, Ahmad – Back In The day, Ice Cube – It Was A Good Day, Roy Ayers – Everybody Loves The Sunshine, Bush Babees – The Love Song, Michael Jackson – I Can’t Help It, Carl Thomas – Summer Rain, Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly – Before I Let Go and En Vogue – My Lovin’. Since then, they have released a new mixtape in the...
Rolls-Royce Ghost Series II
When the Rolls-Royce Ghost Series I was launched in South Africa by the Daytona Group, I had the opportunity to take it for a leisurely drive around Houghton after having been driven around by a pleasant young lady from the Daytona’s marketing and sales team. Back seat or driver’s seat, on that day I decided that one day I will have a Ghost parked in my garage, and not just temporarily. While I still have soft sport for the Ghost I, Rolls-Royce has developed the Ghost Series II, which was launched in March this year in South Africa. There have been a number of changes to the Ghost Series II...
Donovan Goliath And The Joker
Donovan Goliath may have started out as an art director in the South African advertising industry but has found a home for his creativity in comedy. Born and raised in Mthatha in the Eastern Cape, Donovan has been making national strides from his home base in Johannesburg, where he settled after studying art and design at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, With Jason Goliath and his cousin, Nicholas, he also founded Goliath and Goliath. Recently, he created a video skit called What If Jason Statham Drove A South African Taxi. He then went onto Thomas Msengana’s Saturday show on 5FM...
The Art of Life Talks Lily Drone
This week’s episode of the Art of Life explores the world of drones, in particular the Lily Camera Drone, which is a personal drone. The uses of drones are many and will continue to grow as well as the implications and issues around matters like privacy, criminality and airspace. The Lily Camera Drone, which is in pre-order phase, won’t necessarily fall within that, at this stage, and looks quite cool. [youtube]https://youtu.be/T93zNkj8MFM[/youtube]