SA Rocks

This man makes me laugh. And yes, sure, he’s a friend so I sort of have to say that, but I really, really mean it. Honest!

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It seems as though even countries are rallying around the concept of crowdsourcing and using the Internet to promote brands virally. It is now the turn of the International Marketing Council of South Africa (IMC) and they’ve jumped in with both feet.

The “Get wildly creative about South Africa” campaign will be asking everyone who has an interest in SA to band together and prove it!

Here’s the a bit more info:

South Africa’s International Marketing Council, custodian of Brand South Africa, is sponsoring a first of its kind online ad competition to “crowdsource” creativity and insight from around the world to showcase South Africa as a vibrant and competitive nation brand.

Launched in conjunction with the Chief Marketing Officers Council, a global organization of senior marketing executives, the Get Wildly Creative About South Africa ad contest is being hosted on Zooppa.com, a revolutionary social media site which brands like Microsoft are using to generate people-inspired viral advertising.

The IMC, the CMO Council and its new GeoBranding Centre will use viral communications, online conversations, blog postings and cyber chatter to talk up interest and participation in this innovative country branding initiative targeted at the world’s 1.7 billion Internet users.

Current and aspiring creative professionals, digital media buffs, South Africans at home and abroad, and anyone whose heart and soul are stirred by South Africa and its continent are invited to come up with inventive ways to produce a fresh and evocative message about a country on which the world’s attention will be riveted when the 2010 FIFA World Cup kicks off in 100 days.

Entry information and a creative brief designed by the IMC, giving background on the contest assignment and links to South African resources, are available on Zooppa.com when the campaign launches in the coming week.

So get your thinking caps on.

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In the interest of continuing to support the growth of the comedy circuit in Cape Town I bring you the next event to laugh your ass off.

Funny Bones @ Purple Turtle

“Invasion of the TV Stars”

Date: 2nd March 2010

Time: 20h00 (doors open), comedy starts at 21h15

Entrance: R30 (men)

Venue: Purple Turtle

Address: Cnr. Shortmarket and Long Street, Cape Town, South Africa

The Purple Turtle and Mumz The Word presents Funny Bones – regular Tuesday night comedy. Every Tuesday will feature some of SA’s best comedians both established and up-n-coming. On Tuesday 2nd March 2010 Funny Bones would like to showcase some of South Africa’s best comedians who you may have already seen on TV of the big screen. It’s invasion of the TV Stars.

The host for the evening will be Brendan Murray, a comedian who has been described as one of South Africa’s best young comedians. He will be Rhys Woods and Gareth Vorster who will be the open spots for the evening.

The great line-up of TV stars starts with Melt Sieberhagen who made his international debut as a cameo role in the Peter Jackson blockbuster District 9. He will be accompanied by his friend and fellow Jo-burger, Hannes Brummer, who starred as many cameos roles in the Afrikaans sketch comedy Kompleks. The headliner for night is Paul Snodgrass who most of you will remember as a

Sports presenter on ETV.

The event was conceived by Mum-z, who is a young, talented up and coming comedian who’s dedication to increasing the Cape Town comedy circuit has inspired him to launch new comedy nights in Cape Town including “The Show” at The Albert Hall (Woodstock) and “Funny Bones” at The Purple Turtle.

Entrance for the evening is R30, which is extremely affordable for anyone who loves comedy or has never seen local comedy live. All bookings must be made through Mamello Mokoena on talk2me@mumz-the-word.com or 076 801 2113

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I’ve blogged a fair amount about World Cup stadiums, from panoramic photographs to videos. Here’s another video focusing on one of my favourite stadiums for the 2010 World Cup, Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.

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Sunday February 21st is International Mother Language Day. Which means that as South Africans we have a lot to celebrate, 11 of them infact!

So Pick one and decide how you are going to be celebrating the day. If it means going and sitting with your grandmother for a few hours and conversing in your mother language, or trying to possibly learn a few words of one of our eleven national languages, then do it!

But stop for a second and think about how incredibly cool it is to have 11 national languages!

Some info on the day:

International Mother Language Day was proclaimed by UNESCO’s General Conference in November 1999. The International Day has been observed every year since February 2000 to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.

Languages are the most powerful instruments of preserving and developing our tangible and intangible heritage. All moves to promote the dissemination of mother tongues will serve not only to encourage linguistic diversity and multilingual education but also to develop fuller awareness of linguistic and cultural traditions throughout the world and to inspire solidarity based on understanding, tolerance and dialogue.

On 16 May 2007, by resolution 61/266, the General Assembly proclaimed 2008 as the International Year of Languages, to promote unity in diversity and international understanding, through multilingualism and multiculturalism.

Source: UN

Popularity: 5% [?]

A friend of mine down in Cape Town is doing something admirable and laughable (in a good way). He’s trying to kick-start the comedy scene down there. It seems as though as funny (read “odd”) as Cape Town folk are they don’t have a rocking and happening comedy circuit.

Enter Mumz.

Here’s a bit about the man himself:

Mum-z has performed all over the country including comedy festivals such as “Blacks Only”, “The 94.7 Heavyweight Comedy Jam”, “KFM Heavyweight Comedy”, “Arts Alive”, “Rocking The Daisies”, “Durban Matric Rage Festival” and the “Soweto Comedy Festival”. He has relocated to Cape Town to spread his comedy influence and broaden his fan base. He also has a comedy blog www.mumz-the-word.com which he treats as his comedy playground.

And info on the event:

Funny Bones @ Purple Turtle

“Ladies Night”

Date: 23rd February 2010

Time: 20h00 (doors open), comedy starts at 21h15

Entrance: R30 (men), free (ladies)

Venue: Purple Turtle

Address: Cnr. Shortmarket and Long Street, Cape Town, South Africa

The Purple Turtle presents Funny Bones – regular Tuesday night comedy. Every Tuesday will feature some of SA’s best comedians both established and up-n-coming. On Tuesday 23rd February 2010 Funny Bones would like to showcase some of South Africa’s up and coming comediennes. It’s ladies night.

This means that not only is the host of the evening Cape Town’s very own Tracy Klass, but entrance is free for ladies. Oh yeah. Tracy Klass will be hosting Anne Hirsch (who recently performed in David Kau’s ‘Blacks Only’ comedy tour) and Melanie Jones (who is one of Cape Town’s funniest and most established comediennes).

The first half headliner for the show will be Brendan Murray and the headliner for the evening will be Martin Davis (UK).

The event was conceived by Mum-z, who is a young, talented up and coming comedian who’s dedication to increasing the Cape Town comedy circuit has inspired him to launch new comedy nights in Cape Town including “The Show” at The Albert Hall (Woodstock) and “Funny Bones” at The Purple Turtle, with the assistance of Marius van der Westhuizen (manager of The Purple Turtle) and Batya Blankers (Manager of the Albert Hall).

Entrance for the evening is R30, which is extremely affordable for anyone who loves comedy or has never seen local comedy live. (Ladies get in for free on the 23rd February 2010) All bookings should be made through Mamello Mokoena on talk2me@mumz-the-word.com or 076 801 2113

Distributed by: Mamello Mokoena on behalf of Mumz The Word

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UPDATE:

The winners are:

Michelle Alexander

&

Lynn Fester

But worry not. I offer the readers a great consolation prize!

If you book your tickets through Computicket and use the special code: “Taste” you’ll get a 2 for 1 special! Correct, if you use “Taste” and book through Computicket you get a buy one get one free vibe. Its just that easy.

If you live in the gorgeous city of Cape Town and you are going to be around between 24-28 March and you’ll be near Rhodes High School, Mowbray then this is a competition for you!

SA Rocks is giving away two sets of two tickets to two lucky winners. Yes, that is a lot of two’s. I know!

A bit of background: 16 of the city’s most acclaimed restaurants will once again serve their fabulous signature dishes to those discerning food lovers.

Celebrated chefs from Cape Town, Stellenbosch and Franschhoek will be participating, promising an extraordinary experience for everyone. The Chef’s Theatre, Wine Route and Beer Academy will add to a delicious day – or night – out, sampling exquisite food and drink.

For all the festival information go to www.tasteofcapetown.co.za

To win all you have to do is place your answer to the following question in the comments section and a winner will be drawn from the correct answers!

The Question (it’s not a tough one):

Where is this years Taste of Cape Town event being held?

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17th February 2010 in Cape Town, at the CTICC – to register visit http://www.addynamo.com

Seminar Line Up:

9am-12pm:
Advertisers: The Digital Marketplace…and the role contextual Pay Per Click advertising plays
Speakers Katherine McChesney (Habari Media), Sean Riley (CEO of AD:DYNAMO)
Feb 17th, CTICC Rm#160

Gain a comprehensive understanding of all aspects of digital marketing. The seminar is suited to businesses wanting to manage their own digital marketing initiatives, and to any advertising or marketing executive looking to beef up on the industry, terminology, trends and digital advertising techniques.

______________________________

2pm-5pm:
Bloggers: How to blog…and make it a viable business by maximizing revenue
Sponsored by: Private Property, www.privateproperty.co.za

Speakers include: Sean Riley (CEO of AD:DYNAMO), Justin Hartman (MD of AFRIGATOR), Nicholas Haralambous (SA Rocks) and Marc Ashton (Bundublog.com)
February 17th, CTICC Rm# 160

Get insight on how to transform a blog into a viable business. Case studies, techniques and tips will be provided to assist bloggers in taking the step from a hobby to a business.

SPACE IS LIMITED – BOOK NOW! To register visit http://www.addynamo.com

Popularity: 6% [?]

That’s correct, not only can you do good for Africa but there is a little incentive in it for you too! You can win a celebrity dinner if you simply enter the Breadline Celeb competition.

Breadline Africa, a local charity that believes in giving a hand-up not a hand-out, wants to take you out to dinner with one of your favourite local celebs. All you need to do is to make a small, or big, donation towards alleviating poverty in Africa and you could win an evening out with Just Jinjer, Heinz Winckler, Sasha Martinengo or 94.7 Highveld Stereo’s Bailey Schneider.

The competition runs from 1 – 28 February 2010, and to enter simply donate to Breadline Africa via SMS (36010) or its website, www.breadlineafrica.org/celebs. The more you donate, the better your chances to win the prize. And don’t forget to choose which celeb you would like to meet if you win: you do this by including the correct code (JINJER, HEINZ, SASHA or BAILEY) if you enter by SMS, or checking the appropriate tick box if you enter online.

Four lucky winners will be whisked off for a fun-filled evening with a top SA celeb, or group of celebs, who are also doing their bit to eradicate poverty in Africa – for once and for all. Flights are included, and you’ll get an exclusive culinary experience with one of your favourite local celebrities!

Breadline Africa is involved in a range of projects across Southern Africa, all aimed at helping communities become sustainable and enabling them to help themselves. Most of the projects involve placing refurbished shipping containers in disadvantaged areas to be used as classrooms, soup kitchens, clinics, libraries or ablution blocks.

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This is insane. I can actually remember most of these adverts. Can you?