The Opening Ceremony
While what is considered the best ever Paralympics have come to an end, I am still basking in the memories of experiencing something that I'll possibly never have the opportunity to. And, even if I attend more, it is the first time that lingers the longest in memory. During my week, I took pictures endlessly and will be sharing them over the next few weeks. This first batch is of the opening ceremony. I must admit that, generally, I've never been big on opening or closing ceremonies and more interested in the sport. I saw neither of the Olympics ceremonies, other than the infrequent...
Winner – Intel Asus Ultrabook
I would like to congratulate Sarah Snyman on winning the Intel Asus Ultrabook competition I ran over the month of August. She garnered the most votes with the following playlist: Led Zepplin – Kashmir Deep Purple - Smoke On The Water J.J.Cale - Don't Cry Sister Neil Young – Ohio Canned Heat – Spoonful Jimi Hendrix - Red House John Lee Hooker - Big Legs Tight Skirt Jethro Tull - Locomotive Breath Pink Floyd – Money The Black Keys - Next Girl The White Stripes - The Hardest Button To Button Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Gold Lion Nine Inch Nails - The Hand That Feeds Marilyn Manson - You're So Vain...
Ekhaya – SA’s Home Away From Home
It is not every day that an opportunity such as this arises: the chance to travel to the Paralympics to support the SA Paralympics Team and experience the amazing experience that any major global sporting event is. I’m in London as part of the “supporter wave” invited by Mercedes Benz who are one of the sponsors of the South African team having arrived yesterday morning early. Last week, I attended the farewell function for the team at the Sandton Convention Centre and was struck, once again, by how amazingly resilient we as human beings can be. Athletes achieve sometime unimaginable feats;...
Taking The Olympics Personally
As we live, and learn, and grow, we leave dreams by the wayside, and move onto other aspects of this thing called life. As a child, I was always into one sport or another, both playing and watching. Football, basketball, volleyball, tennis, the various track and field events, etc, I was into them all. I was generally competent or slightly above average at most sports never really showing any type of potential beyond school – until I discovered sprinting. My high school track was 200metres, instead of the traditional 400 metres, of grass and clay with the odd stone here and there. Running the...
Vote For Playlist To Win Intel Asus Ultrabook
Selecting the Top 10 Playlists submitted for the competition to win the Intel Asus Ultrabook was extremely difficult. Still loving a lot of them, across genres. Thank you to everyone who entered. But.... a choice had to be made. Below are the Top 10. Please vote in the poll at the bottom of the post for the playlist you feel should win the Ultrabook. Verushka Ramasami Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up One Republic - Secrets John Legend - Ordinary People David Gray - This Years Love Avril Lavigne - Complicated Kelly Clarkson – Stronger The Wanted - Glad You Came Whitney Houston - One...
Yasiin Bey in Louis Vuitton Video
I just had to share this video of Yasiin Bey paying tribute to the legendary Muhammed Ali in this Louis Vuitton "Core Values" campaign. httpv://vimeo.com/46432663 Beautifully shot. Powerful words. Engaging Performance
Win An Intel Asus Ultrabook
Earlier this year, I was fortunate enough to attend the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which is probably the biggest consumer electronics show in the world. The big buzz was around the Ultrabook, which is, in essence, a skinnier, lighter version of a laptop, with a strong battery life, ultra fast start-up and great performance. Intel has been a major driver behind ultrabooks across the different manufacturers, including Asus, and Intel Corp SA have been kind enough to make available one “ultra-stylish Intel Asus Zenbook UX31A” for me to give away on Evolutionary. Seeing that I listen to as...
Performance Poetry vs Spoken Word
In response to my post inviting requests for blog posts on specific topics, I was asked to share my thoughts on ‘performance poetry vs spoken word’. It has been a while since I was involved in the poetry scene and, therefore, I’m out of touch with what the trends, thoughts, etc. that currently exist within the scene. Having gone from regularly writing, performing, promoting and hosting shows, and doing a lot of poetry in corporate spaces, I’ve been on an indefinite sabbatical/ retirement, so my views might be out-dated and/or out of sync with those who are driving the word forward. I...
Ken Block’s Gymkhana Five
About two years ago, I came across a clip of Ken Block's "airfield rallying" video clip from BBC's Top Gear. I was so blown away by the American rally driver's skills, I did a blog post on it here. Block, who has been driving for the Monster World Rally Team since 2010, has also also created a series of Gymkhana videos which have gone unbelievably viral over the last couple of years. Gymkhana is basically precision driving where, according to Wikipedia, "the driver must maneuver through a predetermined 'track' performing many different driving techniques." Ken Block recently...
The DESTINY Forum
This post is, simply, a shameless plug for an experience that does not require a plug, namely The DESTINY Forum which is taking place on July 23rd. One of the joys of working for a magazine is the opportunity to interact with interesting and influential people in various sectors of South Africa. We are privileged enough to gain insights into what happens behind the scenes and share this with the people who engage with our writing. Ours is to share inspiring, insightful and entertaining information around women - DESTINY - and men - DESTINY Man - who are on their way to achieving their dreams...
Video for Proverb’s Writers’ Club
He may have started in the entertainment industry as a rapper but, over the years, he has built on each of his accomplishments and reached for new spaces. Once simply an emcee, now Proverb flits effortlessly between platforms – including television, radio and live events – whether it is hosting Idols, All Access and Channel O or presenting on radio and performing on stages. He is simply one of the hardest working individuals in the entertainment industry and a humble, warm and good person to boot. Which is why, when I got a call from his team to do a cameo in the video for his song Writers’...
Taking Blog Post Requests
The whole blogging thing is a minefield. I often question whether what I add to ether is adding value or simply adding to the incessant noise. I started my first one around 2005 and focused on the happenings in the poetry scene, which I was very involved with then. I shared random thoughts and did book, CD and DVD reviews. My next one was a poetry blog where I attempted to post a poem a day – usually of my unedited work that I wrote during my writing sessions. Since then, I’ve blogged on MySpace and Wordpress before finally settling on this blog as my central engagement point with the world...
Playing With Mini JCW Roadster
I love beautiful cars but, in all honesty, I was never the guy who understood all the intricacies. I've driven a lot of cars, clocking crazy kilometres on a daily basis, but couldn't tell you much about things like kilowatts. I've always been more about how comfortable it feels, how much I enjoy driving it, etc. A couple of months back, I was fortunate enough to get the Mini Roadster John Cooper Works to play with for a weekend and it was fun as hell. Fortunately it was still a little warm so I plonked the Prince (my son) on the passenger seat and cruised out onto the highway for an...
Another Michael Jackson Cover
Quadron cover Michael Jackson’s Baby be Mine, making it theirs while not diminishing the beauty and power of the song.
Aloe Blacc – Billie Jean Cover
Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III, known as Aloe Blacc, exists on the fringes of the mainstream music industry. If it wasn't for the friend of a friend passing on a copy of his 2010 album Good Things, he would probably wouldn't have registered on my radar. The song he is most known for is I Need A Dollar, which is also the opening title track for the US television series, How To Make It In America. Catchy and relevant, I Need A Dollar is one of those songs that just lingers with a hook that takes some doing to get out of your head once it lodges itself in there. It seems he started out as a...
Win An Anthony Hamilton Hamper
I have a hamper of four Anthony Hamilton CDs to giveaway as a follow-up to my interview with and blog post on his latest album Back To Love. The hamper, courtesy of Sony Music Africa, consists of the following four CDs: Comin' From Where I'm From Ain't Nobody Worrrin' The Point Of It All Back To Love To win the hamper, answer the following question as a comment: Name two producers that Anthony Hamilton worked with on Back To Love. Please note: This...