SA Rocks

Above is the presentation that won Missing Link – South Africa’s resident presentation legends lead by Rich Mulholland – the award for best presentation in the “Education” category of the World’s Best Presentation Content 2009 on Slideshare!

You can follow PresoRockGods on twitter and visit Missing Link to find out more about them!

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Hat tip to 2oceansvibe for this one.

What a fantastic idea. Using the concept from Wild Cherry’s rocking song “Play that funky music white boy” a group calling themselves Vuvu and the Zelas have put together a cracking parody for the local market and potential for the 2010 World cup!

Brilliance.

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When Aking launched on to the scene I started to wonder what I’d been missing with their other band, Fokofpolisikar. I was right, I’d been missing out.

Now I bring you the very first Afrikaans Rock/hiphop/rap colaboration. It comes to your from a rocking South African group called Kolproduk and and Straatligkinders. The track is called Desvalido. It’s getting major airplay on SA Radio nationwide. Rock on.

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Yes it is that lovely time of year again. When the grass turns to a deep shade of green, the sky rolls over to a luminous blue and the clouds move along just enough to provide with comfortable amounts of shade.

This all means that it’s the perfect time for Rocking The Daisies and Rocking The Gardens to descend upon us and blow our minds.

It’s Summertime, in a nutshell. I am normally a Wintertime person but who can deny that the cooler things definitely happen in Summer.

So let’s cut to the chase.

Rocking the Gardens

is taking place at Emmerentia Dam in JHB on October 3rd, 2009.

The lineup is as follows:

Black Hotels
Ashtray Electric
340ml
aKING
Tidal Waves
Freshly Ground
Bed on Bricks
Just Jinjer

Brilliant. Now on to

Rocking the Daisies

The Lineup is sick –

Sunday
10:00 The Little Kings
11:00 Simon van Gend
12:00 Son of a Thousand Blues
13:00 340ml
14:00 Bed on Bricks

There is a Red Bull Studio and a Lemon Tree Theatre this year and RTD is always eco-friendly and rocking conscious.

This year at RTD there will be some very kick-ass, old school with a nu-twist, Photo Booths present at the event. Sponsored by The Grid. Make sure to pop in to the booth, get your photo snapped with your insane mates and post them to your various profiles, albums, social networks or wherever.

As per usual there is nothing left unturned at The Daisies event, Join The Grid Group (www.thegrid.co.za/rtd/home on your phone browser), follow them on Twitter, hit the Facebook event and so be sure to get your rock out.

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by Adam Currie

Well, well, well…I do love to spark a debate and my last little ramble (A Canuck Kaapie) certainly got some individuals’ blood boiling. A good few old-school Johannes’ shook their heads, put there brandewyn’s aside, and decided to give me a good ol’ Groot Krokodil finger wag.

I was thrown the ever so popular, ‘Why aren’t you back in South Africa then’ line, as well as the clichéd, and oh so melodramatic ‘Crime in SA is real’ spiel… (cue the violin music). I am well aware of crime in SA- my student digs in Grahamstown- with a permanent SAPS inspector parking spot- can attest to that. However in life you will always have the pessimistic cowboy in his rocking chair, just waiting to shoot down the first glimpse of optimism.

It got me thinking and, after a discussion with some other young Saffa’s this side of the pond, I decided to gain some perspective. Being new to this land of frosty winters and mediocre ales, I decided to head down to my local watering hole in order to watch the Mighty Men in Green demolish those silly chaps in black, with that funny pre-game dance (Boks vs All Blacks if the sporting metaphors are not driving home here).

I pulled up a chair at the first Saffa supporting table I could find- not difficult… it was beaming with beers, meat and an all round incredible aura that would make Mandela and Sisulu do an African jive. I announced that I was new to Canada and, upon hearing my oh so smooth Saffa tones, was greeted with a backslap, a ‘howzit’ and an ice cold frosty beverage that would make the SAB breweries chairman kick his heels with glee.

I asked what had bought these fine esteemed individuals, stemming from Potch to Paarl, to this land of maple leaves and lumberjacks. I was expecting the clichéd drones of ‘South Africa is going the way of Zim’, or worse yet ‘I am here on the new white refugee programme’. But what was this? These fine learned persons threw crazy lines out such as ‘I am here to build up my skills, and then perhaps head home after’, or …‘I am young and traveling with every intention of heading home’. My word… The audacity of them all. I felt for a second a feeling of euphoria. A feeling that, unlike Brandon Huntley, I was indeed not alone in this cruel world.

As we sat and chatted it became clear that ‘our’ generation was not defined by age or race. Old and young we sat and conversed, discussing essential and global diplomatic issues. Issues such as Shalk’s mullet to Zuma’s latest auto’s sector stimulus policy. We threw in terms such as ‘china’, and were greeted by a hoorah by the Asian contingent in the back corner. My word, what a spectacular gathering of the finest South African minds of tomorrow.

We were indeed optimistic about SA, yet wanted a bit of travel under our belt that stemmed further than the Springs/ Benoni campsite. Madness I know, but true. We might not have agreed on the important things in life (i.e. WP are clearly returning to their glory days), however the question of returning home was not an option…it was a ‘gimme’. There we sat…black and white (stop coughing- old school cowboy ‘we will never unite’ readers…it is true…serious…no really…black AND white), and discussed our future paths. The paths indeed differed, however the destination was predominantly ‘home’.

I must be the first to admit that I am not some ‘the world is made of candy floss and bunnies’ hippie, that feels if we all just took the time to hug the person next to us, that the world would be a better place. I am fully aware of the issues faced by our nation daily, and am fully aware of factors such as crime, HIV, and the stigma attached to being ‘African’. However, jeepers what an awesome feeling to know that I am indeed an African.

I keep stressing myself as to being part of a ‘lucky generation’ and hell yes I am. No country in the world can speak as openly about issues such as race, discrimination, and the importance of a decent fast bowler in our cricket side than a Saffa, and we are all the better for it. We have transcended from an era of being held back with regards to discussion and thought, to one that is now hailed as a model of developing democracy in its finest form (I stress ‘Developing’ as I can feel the rage ascending in that cowboy now). Yes, I know we have issues, however what other country can boast as far as we have come?

I have traveled and seen places that are supposed to be what South Africa ‘should’ strive to be. I have seen the first world, and with it its fantastic public transport systems (*cough* splutter*…1 x Saffa taxi over London underground anyday thanks), yet still think that South Africa has more potential than these pantheons of first world society.

So I leave you with this…I will indeed come home (very soon in fact), print out my CV and get in line. So dad prep the grid, mom please pack the sarnies for the cricket, and gents make sure that the Labels are cold.

I realise the going will be tough and the issues faced by South African daily are real. However…I am also Saff-nised enough to realise that we are the best damn individuals on the planet, blessed to be part of this era in our history, and that in while not perfect with regards to our domestic issues, we are the envy of many…and, regardless of any pessimistic old grouches telling me otherwise, there is no rather place that I would rather end up.

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By Adam Currie

I sent my original letter you a few months ago as a beaming with pride South African, voicing my democratic rights in Trafalgar Square…what a day, boerie, ballots and acronyms galore…

My how things have changed…For one I fell for a fine Canadian lass- lets call her ‘Canuck’ for this exercise- that was willing to look past the mounting flaws of this author. One soggy Friday I logged off the pc on mud island and asked myself…’What the hell am I doing here?…surely there are adventures to be had.

I racked my brain, and the inner uber-testosterone driven 1980’s South African male roared within. I had a vision…me, a plaid shirt, a beard and a mountain. Where could such manliness be unleashed upon the world? Where could a beast that would give Bakkies the shivers be allowed to mix with the common decent folk of society? One word…’Canada’.

So off I went… a 26 year old South African gent with good intent, packed to the rim including jocks and socks, and mom’s ‘Good Luck We Will Miss You’ card. I boarded the big bird in the sky for a land of beaver (animals people, get your head out of the gutter), maple syrup and those mountie looking fellows…you know the ones- like in ‘Due South’ on SABC3.

I landed in Vancouver to a pearler of day and basked in its wake. Mountains in the distance, sun on my back and a sea breeze tickling the nostrils- a fine distraction from the arm pits I had since been savouring daily on London’s ‘innovative underground’. What a place…a place to start fresh…and bring adventures anew…

Surely I would be a treat to the locals… ‘Wow, South Africa? Really?’ They would shout…’Yes the land of Madiba, fine wines and sandy beaches’, I would reply. Aaahhh this was it…I was about to become a ‘fresh off the boat’ blank slate in a land where democracy ruled, and a son of the revolution of our fine nation would be embraced.

And then it hit…no sooner had I sat down and begun to plan my lumberjack beard, and logged online to find myself a shiny new axe, when the Canuck leans over and says to me some white Saffa has been granted refugee status. I felt a strain in my moose hunting shoulder as I leaned over to savour this glorious, but surely satirical tale. And so I read of the treacherous tales of this poor ‘Huntley’ (feel free to replace ‘H’ with any letter of your choice) chap, and his treacherous life back in deep dark Africa.

I read at how he, a white chap, would stick out like a sore thumb in this colony they call ‘The Cape’, and at how he had been called names like ‘settler’ and ‘white dog’. How cruel society can be, I thought…Thanks god he has got himself out of this treacherous place and its savage ways. And then the lumberjack inside bolted…and sanity came slowly strolling in. Wait a second…I am white…I am from Cape Town…Ok fine I am not an unemployed irrigation salesman but, thank f*$k, the similarities had to end somewhere.

I have read in disbelief at how this absolute chop- come on…that was the perfect word to use- admit it- has tarnished the reputation of a great nation. I perused how he had been robbed 7 times and never reported it because ‘he did not trust the police’…What an absolute joke. This chump- who is a carnival worker this side by the way- has managed to somehow slip into Canada a few years ago, work illegally, and then still managed to convince the authorities that he is in fact the sole South African left on the planet, is being hunted down by JZ and his cronies, and that if he is to step foot on the beloved soil down South that the world will cease to spin, the sun will not rise and that Julius Malema will finally become mayor of Oranje.

The Canuck, who recently enjoyed a trip back home to the fairest Cape with me in March, looked on in confusion as I pointed to the chesire cat grin of Huntley, and declared him the last surviving white South African. This guy MUST be kept in a test tube for the world to admire…a true tool in every sense of the word. Since this cowboy went global I have had people in bars offer to buy me a beer for all of the hardships I must have endured as a ‘white African’, and had employers eyeball me thinking that they surely cannot hire another oke who is a ‘refugee’.

However, all is not chaos. This place is fantastic and if they are willing to let Huntley stay here forever with such claims, they certainly do have a sense of humour. I just feel bad that a legitimate refugee spot has been yanked from some individual sitting in a cold dark bullet ridden corner somewhere, actually fearing for his/her life.

He did however make me beam with pride…beam in knowing that once this visa is up that I am indeed headed home. I am one of the ‘lucky generation’… a guy that will in a few months time sit with my black and white brethren down south, Black Label in hand- weird I know…Black Label is not just a black person’s beer- where we can reminisce about how the last white irrigation salesman left for the carnival abroad, and that no matter what tough times are to come… that another country is having to deal with this absolute clown. I, for one, cannot wait to be the only returning white chap in South Africa. See you soon.

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I was alerted to this story by Marcel and Eric himself on twitter.

Eric Edmeades is a South African-born entreprenuer and consultant the world over. He’s been making headlines recently for becoming the new CEO of the Kerner group. He has also purchased a controlling stake in the Lucasfilm spinoff.

If you aren’t aware of what Lucasfilm is then consider movies such as the epic Star Wars and Indiana Jones as well as many, many others. Now you get the picture. It’s big.

Kerner Group began as the former Industrial Light & Magic models-and-miniatures shop. Its businesses also extend to advanced video compression software called FrameFree and 3-D camera rigs for stereoscopic movies. In addition, Kerner has plans for a 3-D TV network. (source)

Edmeades told Daily Variety that the deals for Kerner’s 3-D broadcasting plans (Daily Variety, April 15) had to be put on hold while he completed his acquisition. He said those efforts are now being resumed, though what approach Kerner will take to 3-D broadcasting is still being investigated.

“We are also getting back into film production,” said Edmeades, “which is something that Kerner largely left behind when it left the Lucasfilm family. We are excited about getting back to moviemaking and, of course, we will be focusing on live-action 3-D feature films and, when the time comes, television programming.”

The company’s FrameFree compression software is also going to be applied to 3-D, he said.

“The next release of FrameFree will allow anyone who wants to get in on 3-D to produce HD commercials in 3-D that can be shown in cinemas, on the coming 3-D laptops or in homes as the 3-D home cinema industry takes off,” Edmeades said.

“Nothing is more convincing than a genuine explosion or a genuine textured practical effect combined with great composition and CG,” he said.

Edmeades also said the surging number of 3-D titles will create demand for high-quality 3-D camera rigs, which are in short supply.

Yet another South African doing the country proud on a global scale. Congratulations Eric. You deserve all the success that you are realising!

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I have long maintained that if you want to leave a country (South Africa) then you should. Nothing should keep you in a country that makes you dreadfully unhappy.

What am I on about?

A WHITE South African man has been granted refugee status in Canada after an immigration board ruled that his “fear of persecution by African South Africans” was justified.

It seems as though Canada has become an enabler of the worst kind for emigration of lazy South Africans who need a quick shot out of a bad spot and their 15minutes of infamy globally. The “victim” here clearly should be leaving South Africa anyways. It seems as though he has no idea of what constitutes an “African”. In my book, it’s not a racial thing. So does Mr Brandon Huntley, 31, think he is being persecuted by every person who considers themselves African? I consider myself African. I know many a pale-face who consider themselves African too. So then, by proxy, Huntley is not being racially persecuted. He is being persecuted for other reasons.

In case you are misunderstanding my stance: I think that Huntley is flat out wrong here. I think he is using the plight of our nation’s past to further his own agenda and find an easy way in to a country that was sympathetic to his ignorant, stupid, short sighted and lazy version of “persecution”.

I would like to quote an article in The Times: “This is really not a story about whites in South Africa, but about the Canadian refugee system that is broken and the authorities will believe any story they are told.” – source

Now that’s the point right there. The point is that it is an impossibility to take the “plight” of a single white South African and generalise it to the entire racial group of a country and then say that we all are being persecuted. Let me blunt here: We are not, as a racial group, being persecuted in South Africa. Maybe some are, many might be victims of crime but crime is prevalent for every racial group in South Africa.

Furthermore I have read and heard that Huntley has not gone to the police and laid charges against anyone for any of the alleged seven racial hate-crimes committed against him. Why? What does that say about Canada and their rubbish system of granting “refugee” status? Why was the South African government not allowed to comment or do any of their own investigations in to the matter? What sort of country simply grants this sort of status without looking in to all avenues and causes and effects?

I think Canada looks stupid. I think Huntley looks stupid and I think that they both deserve one another.

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