SA Rocks

I am a bit slow on the uptake with this incredible campaign headed up by Primedia (Who are doing some amazingly pro-SA things).

Lead SA is a call to action for all South Africans to stand up and Lead South Africa by being a real part of the solution.

From the website:

… [Lead SA] aims to highlight the achievements of the nation and celebrate the efforts of ordinary South Africans who continually seek to do the right thing for themselves, for their families and for their country.
Lead SA encourages individuals to stand up and accept responsibility for the challenges they face. The Lead SA initiative is a long term project that is set to be rolled out over the next few years. Through the small steps of individuals the nation will improve and prosper.

How do they plan to do this?

As a South African, you have the resilience and passion needed to change the nation. It may seem like a huge responsibility and an impossible task, but it’s certainly achievable if you choose to simply do the right thing. Together we can achieve immeasurable success.
Here are a few simple ways to become a proactive leader:

1. Stand up for what’s right. If you’ve had a glass too many, let a designated driver take you home.
2. Stand up to corruption. Don’t bribe.
3. Stand up for morality. Report crime.
4. Stand up for your community. Get to know your neighbours.
5. Stand up against indifference. Take an interest in those around you.
6. Stand up for free speech. Listen to the other side.
7. Stand up for your future. Respect the environment.
8. Stand up for education. Read to your children.
9. Help instead of Hinder. Say yes when asked to do a favour, don’t look for excuses.
10. Acknowledge goodness. When you have something good to say, say it.

The above 10 instructions are things that I have been banging on about for years and it’s great to finally see a big media organisation jumping in to potential solutions and pushing an attempt at change.

This is the promotional video from the website:

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As I have previously blogged, Gary the Tooth Fairy will be doing some shows in Joburg very soon. You now stand a chance to win two tickets to the show. You choose the night once you’ve won the tickets (yes, you) then simply attend the event and have a laugh.

So here’s how it plays out: You answer a simply question in the comment section below and BAM, you’re entered in to the competition. I’ll do a draw on Wednesday next week (18 August, 2010) and announce the winners.

The question is simple:

Who directed Gary, The Tooth Fairy showing in Joburg?

Hint – Check out my previous post on the topic for information…

Now type in your answers below and BOOM, you’ve got an entry.

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Yes, the absolutely hilarious character that we all loved in the Mnet adverts is taking the stage at the Lyric theatre after an extremely successful show at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown this year.

SA Rocks will be running a give-away competition this week (or next) for tickets to the show. I’ll also hopefully be running a competition on my personal twitter account too, so follow me to keep track.

From the PR:

Gary the Tooth Fairy will be sharing his skill and distinctive magical view on the world with audiences at The Lyric theatre, Gold Reef City Complex in JHB for a limited number of shows from the 20th August – 22nd August.

M-Net viewers have seen the master illusionist, who unsurprisingly is the local individual with the most fans on Facebook (110 000 and climbing daily), walk on water, communicate with birds and do all things fantastic to steal the limelight away from the country’s number one general entertainment channel.

From Gary himself:

“…uhm … it’s a masterpiece … it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to laugh your molars out … if you miss it, you will want to rip your wings off … It’s CLEVA.”

To book tickets head over to Computicket NOW!

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Found this video on Youtube from a fans perspective at Soccer City at the final game after Spain were crowned champions of the world.

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This video gives me insane nostalgia and fantastic goosebumps. The memories are still fresh in my mind but will definitely last a lifetime for me as I am sure they will for many South Africans.

[via Blacknotes]

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Not only did the 2010 FIFA World Cup rock my world, it rocked South Africa, Africa and the entire world. That might seem like a sweeping statement however last nights match was apparently viewed by close to 3bn people the world over. Massive, massive, massive.

The opening ceremony was incredible as was the closing ceremony last night. But before I climb in to the praise and ask for some public apologies let me run through my World Cup experience.

I went to 4 live games. I attend 4 different stadiums. I partook in 2 different fanparks and visited many, many pubs over the World Cup Month.

The matches I saw

My first game was Denmark vs Cameroon at Loftus. The tickets to that game were provided to me by Brand South Africa and they kicked off my World Cup in serious style. I parked at Hatfield square in Pretoria, devoured a MASSIVE pizza at Cheeky’s pub and then walked up to the stadium. This was also the first time I’d been to Loftus so I was really getting the full experience.

On arrival I kept asking where exactly I should be going until eventually i was pointed towards the closed of section that encased gate 5. Gate 5 provides the entrance and exit for the box seats at Loftus. Yes, you are correct. My first experience of the world cup was in the warmth, comfort and style of box Loftus seats.

Here are some photos:

The second game I went to was the match between Greece and Argentine in Polokwane. The stadium is fantastic, there is very, very little to do around the stadium and that was the day that South Africa beat France. We watched that game at the Fanpark in Polokwane which was jam-packed with supporters.

Alas Greece did not win but I was able to see the great Argentinian team play:

The third game was an incredible experience that I will never forget and it’s all with thanks to a fantastic friend of mine!

Soccer City – the most incredible stadium I went to with the most amazing crowd and vibe. I was fortunate enough to be given VIP tickets to the Argentina vs Mexico Round 16 game. What an experience; the food, the seats and the experience were second to none. On top of that I was able to see incredible football played by both Mexico and Argentina but ultimately Argentina went through.

The Soccer City experience:

And then there was trusty Ellis Park and the Brazil vs Chile Round 16 game. It’s always a pleasure watching the greatest football nation in the world kick around the leather (or Jabulani as it’s known these days).

Here’s a couple pics:

The Apologies

I want to know if the good Editors over in that lovely Island commonly known as England are forcing their staff (read: Naysayers) to throw together some quick apologies? I doubt it. The best revenge is to live well, I was told once. Let’s be honest as South Africans we need nothing more than to let the world see – as they have – how well we have done in hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup. We ROCKED it, we were given the opportunity to show the world how fantastic our nation is and we grasped it with both hands and ran with it one foot in front of the next.

Personally I would like to see more people thanking Danny Jordaan and his incredible team for their hard work over a period of more than 6 years. They deserve as much credit as they can take in and they now deserve a break; A long and well-deserved vacation.

The Glory

Finally South Africa is not being seen the world over as the nation that overcame Apartheid. That is a great achievement to be known for and I am proud of my history but in the past 30 days (read: 6 years) we’ve been building towards changing the perception of the world. Hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup I truly feel that our nation can finally feel like we can bask in the glory of a job well done. We were great hosts as individuals, as towns, cities, provinces and as a nation. We partied hard, we played hard, we worked hard and we definitely supported this world cup like no event before it!

I am incredibly excited to see the nation finally jumping on the SA Rocks bandwagon, it’s taken about 3 years and over 1000 blog posts to get to where we are (Oh yes, and the World Cup!) but here we are. A proud nation. I am a proud South African yet again.

The Reality

The truth of this country is a simple one; We like to bitch, moan and look at the dark lining of silver clouds. And that’s where we’re headed. We’re headed in to the hangover period after one helluva party. It’s going to be tough and let me preempt the naysayers before they have the chance to chime in: There are many, many, many problems in this country that the world cup did not solve. There was a lot of money spent on the World Cup that could have been spent on building houses or hiring more police. That is all true. But nothing would have unified a nation like a World Cup. Nothing.

One foot in front of the next, that is how you walk down the road, one foot in front of the next. We start building a nation and the nation will help build itself.

Here are most of the photos from my World Cup experience. A big thanks to Brand South Africa and you-know-who for the tickets I was very fortunate to be given!

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It is quite phenomenal to see that the bridge was assembled and then sort of slid over to connect with the other side of the road. Wow. Gillooly’s is apparently known to be the busiest interchange in the Southern Hemisphere so this is quite an achievement for the engineers and teams involved.

Click here if you can’t view the video above: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NXZD-Ke8J0

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This website: http://keepflyingtheflag.co.za has been shared a lot over the web in the last few days. So I thought it’s worth sharing with my readers.

Have a look at the nice little sentiments portrayed on the site and have a look at the logo they are asking people to spread:

You can download the pack of graphics from the site or HERE.

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I was fortunate enough to receive a door. Yes, a door. One door from Jo’burg Child Welfare. They sent me a door in the hope that I could turn it in to art.

Here are the first photos of me getting organised, fixing up the door and laying down the first coats of paint:

Here’s the blurb on the goal for the 100 Doors of Hope:

100 doors and a 100 people raising money for Jo’burg Child Welfare.

JCW has tasked 100 people consisting of artists, musicians, celebrities, authors, comedians, photographers, cartoonists and graphic designers to each take an old door and turn it into a piece of art.

These doors will be auctioned in September to raise much needed funds for Jo’burg Child Welfare

Watch our progress with this project and spread the word. You can help us make this happen with a small donation:

http://www.doit4charity.co.za/fundraising/carly.ritz

https://www.givengain.com/cgi-bin/gigam.cgi?cmd=my_donor_projects&profile_id=43049

Who is on board?
John Vlismas, Mango Groove, Jason Hartman, Evolver, Ard Matthews, Craig Native, Jeremy Maggs, Kim Engelbrecht, Grethe Fox, Hlubi Mboya, Abigail Betz, Rasty, Sharon Sampson, Ruda Landman, Jodi Bieber, Mel Bala, Soli Philander… and the list grows.

I’ve seen some absolutely magnificent doors that have already been created. Obviously my focus is on a Rocking South Africa – not surprising.

My thoughts were that I should try hard to document the entire process (whether the final product is something to behold or not) and maybe through the continual status updates on the progress of the door raise some awareness and interest in my door which will raise the purchase price at the auction!

The doors will be auctioned off to the highest bidders sometime in September. So head over to the Facebook page and have a look at your favourite door and start saving funds for a good cause!

As I go along with the door I’ll post updates on SA Rocks, Facebook and Twitter. So keep following!

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South Africa is a passion of mine, in case you hadn’t noticed. And I have been very fortunate that people want to feel passionate about South Africa and like to help me spread the word. I’ve had some great experiences with thanks to this website.

I was contacted by Men’s Health a few weeks back and told that I have been nominated in the Game Changers category in this years Men’s Health Best Man event.

This is the write-up on the website:

NIC HARALAMBOUS – Blogger

Our online national praise singer, he’s the blogger behind the proudly South African SA Rocks website. It’s altering the way the world sees South Africa and even more importantly it’s altering the way South Africans see South Africa. Instead of joining the chorus of ex-pats who’re knocking SA, he’s finding something positive to say about our nation… every single day.

Basically the next step is to vote.

Follow this link to vote and show your support: http://www.mhbestmen.co.za/candidates/the-game-changer/

There is some strong competition for me in the Game Changer category and there are some incredible people who have been nominated in the whole event so be sure to check out the other categories and vote for your favourites there too!

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