SA Rocks

Bafana Bafana might have lost last night to Uruguay in a 3 – 0 thrashing (let’s be realistic about it).

Here are some of my thoughts on the game:

Bafana never really turned up on the night. They were slow, they never moved forward and they refuse to use their wide-open wings to push the midfield forward. But hey, that’s just my thoughts. We didn’t deserve to win that game and we made Uruguay look good.

The referee – is, well, a referee and this is soccer, this is the beautiful game and there is always going to be a controversy for one team or another. This time it happens to be our team and it sucks. Most of all it sucks for our incredible goalkeeper, Itumeleng Khune who in no way deserves the punishment he is going through. Khune played out of his boots against Mexico and Uruguay and really got a raw deal. However, let me say this as clearly as possible; The referee had nothing to do with South Africa losing to Uruguay. You need to score goals to win a soccer match and you can’t score goals from your own half for 90 minutes. We lost because we didn’t play well.

Uruguay played South Africa in to a corner. They were driven, they pushed forward, they made space (which SA gave them) and they took shots on goal. They also scored the first goal which is imperative for a mental advantage. South Africa’s lack of international experience on a major scale showed here, we were a goal down and we couldn’t get our heads out of that framework. We beat ourselves after that first goal.

Plus, Forlan is brilliant. Enough said there.

But let me follow all of this criticism up with the following:

Bafana Bafana make me proud. I cannot even begin to fathom the weight that those players feel on their shoulders; host nation, one of the lowest ranked teams in the World Cup this year, they have records to maintain (such as trying not to be the first host nation not to make it past the first stage of a World Cup) and they have their pride above all. I do not envy their position. When they win they are our heroes and when they lose fans leave the stadium early.

ASIDE – the fans at Loftus who left the stadium early; I am hoping they left to avoid traffic and if Bafana were winning they would have left anyways at that time (a bit of a dream, but still). I was honestly insulted by their lack of respect for a team that is playing their hearts out for the nation. Disgusting.

Now on to South Africa and how we can still win. It’s simple: Be great hosts, don’t be bitter losers and make this World Cup one to remember for every single individual who has traveled to our beautiful nation.

We have still gained so much by hosting the Fifa World Cup 2010. Whether or not Bafana goes through to the next round they have done us proud by simply competing at a level that no one had previously even expected. We drew to Mexico who sit at #17 on the FIFA world rankings. Bafana sit at 83rd on the rankings, so let’s be realistic (yes this is me being realistic) about the outcomes of this World Cup for Bafana; we were probably never going to win it. Ever. Participating at the top level of global football is an achievement that we were only granted as the hosts of this World Cup. Our boys are doing us proud and we should hold our heads high.

There is more football to be played. There are more games to be watched and there many other African nations and underdogs that we can put our weight behind. I’m personally routing for the Ivory Coast to pull in some magic and get through to the next round and I’m hoping that Cameroon can pull together and show the world their class.

Bring on the next 20 or so days left of the biggest sporting event in the world. It’s going to be a blast that we will probably never in our lifetimes see again in South Africa. So let’s make it worth our while and enjoy it.

Popularity: 22% [?]

Images of Cape Town Stadium and Cape Town – produced by African Renaissance Productions and Silver Bullet Productions – to get copies of the images – go to – www.africanrenaissance.co.za

Hat tip to Blacknotes for more great content!

Popularity: 8% [?]

I covered the Durban stadium previously. Now it’s Green Point’s turn. Cape Town is one of the most stunning areas in the world and fortunately this stadium does a great deal in adding to that landscape I think.

Another cracking contribution by my man Pienaar – you are on fire!

Popularity: 11% [?]

I love SA. That’s no surprise. But very often new reasons arrive at my doorstep as to why it is that I love being South African.

Justin Slack was that reason last week. I asked for assistance with some design tweaks and received a response from Justin. He was extremely helpful and went above and beyond to help me get through what I had asked him to. The man is a legend for is instant offer to assist me, his unwillingness to stop until the job was satisfactory (to his standards) and his general all-round fantastic approach to assisting me.

So in closing, SA Rocks is trying hard to make a comeback. I am looking for contributions, advertisers, assistance and anything else anyone can offer to make this a fantastic year for SA Rocks.

Popularity: 9% [?]

Yes, you read that correctly. People in 156 countries all sang “All you need is love” at the very same time on the very same day in their respective countries. South Africa is in there, as are Zimbabwe and many other African countries alongside the other nations that participated.

I strangely found this incredibly moving and extremely effective. This was all done to raise awareness about HIV in Africa.

Popularity: 11% [?]

Do 2010 has arrived. Some are calling it the beginning of a new decade but I am battling to understand the math on that one. Others are calling it the end of an era – which I tend to agree with. But one thing that many people all agree on is that is going to be one hell of a year for South Africa.

Here’s a blog post from Constitutionally Speaking written by Pierre De Vos that I found on what went right in 2009:

(1) South Africa had another free and fair election (it’s fourth!) without any serious violence and the fourth democratic President was inaugurated soon afterwards.

(2) The government decisively changed direction on HIV/AIDS and President Jacob Zuma appointed a health minister who clearly understands that the problem of HIV needs to be dealt with in a comprehensive manner.

(3) Nkosazana Zuma has begun to change things around at the Department of Home Affairs. A friend of mine received her passport only 4 weeks after submitting her application!

(4) The South African banking system weathered the international financial crisis very well and the SA government did not need to pump billions of dollars into the system as was required by the USA, the UK and some European countries.

(5) A free press and independent electronic media continued to thrive and to present a variety of news, exposes and opinion, sometimes harshly critical of the foibles of the governing party and sometimes singing its praises.

(6) Some members of the tripartite alliance began exposing Julius Malema as the self-serving, headline-grabbing, tenderpreneur that he is.

(7) The selection of a new Chief Justice and four new judges to the Constitutional Court proceeded without unnecessary controversy and several good candidates were appointed to the positions while a certain Judge President were clearly not a serious contender for appointment.

(8) A vibrant civil society continued to thrive and to challenge seemingly unlawful decisions made by the President and y constitutional institutions such as the Judicial Services Commission in various courts across South Africa.

(9) South Africa successfully hosted the Confederations Cup and the various soccer stadiums for 2010 Fifa World Cup were completed on time.

(10) Many South Africans quietly continued to build bridges and build the nation by giving of their time and money to address the poverty and deprivation of fellow South Africans.

These are all great things to comment on and take note of.

From a personal perspective I was extremely proud to vote in yet another democratic election in South Africa. I am also noticing a massive influx of young South Africans returning to SA to make their lives. This bodes well for us I think.

I’m not going to dwell on too much suffice to say that 2010 is going to be an invigorating, busy, crazy, manic, massive and important year for South Africa and South Africans all over the country.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Ed’s note: This post is a guest post from Rich Laburn who has worked extensively in the South African bush and currently at Londolozi Private Game Reserve. This is the first of four posts that Rich will be writing.

There is nothing quite like South African wildlife. It is impressive and has endured long before the first seeds of the country were sown. In South Africa the opportunity to spend uncluttered time with this wildlife is phenomenal because of the accessibility and diversity of game reserves. South Africa hosts many concessions and reserves that provide exclusive opportunities to experience wildlife in its purest form and in uncrowded freedom. Frustratingly though, with so much wildlife around, it’s impossible to experience all of the remarkable encounters that occur every second of every day. Instead, all you can do is pick one animal at a time and give all your energy, thoughts and appreciation to moments spent with that being.

Where I work, at Londolozi Private Game Reserve, the animal that is most frequently picked is the leopard. After 30 years of continual respect, habituation and game viewing, these elusive cats are content to allow us to view them for hours on end. Following them down dry riverbeds and gazing up at them whilst they fall asleep in the cradle of large trees, the leopards viewed by the rangers, trackers and guests are plentiful. From the 17 year legacy of the recently deceased Female leopard to the muscular Camp Pan Male. The Nyeleti female with 3 tiny cubs and the Nottens Female who has just taken over her mother’s territory, these leopards are iconic. They are stars in their own unwitting way, yet still wild animals working with the pure existence of nature for their survival.

For me, there is one leopard that I feel the most affection for. The Maxabeni Young Male, so called owing to the spot pattern on either side of his shiny pink nose. Unlike his more evasive twin brother, this young male is willing to share his journey into adulthood. Cocky and cheeky but still desperately trying to learn where his place in the world is, every moment spent with him is different, interesting and thought provoking. I have watched him hunt his first antelope, leap away in fright from prowling hyenas and how his body language shifts from fear to confidence in momentary flashes. He has taught me lessons of persistence, courage and the value of cutting your losses. He is only a year old, yet he is wise.

This leopard is just one of many different animals that we as South Africans are lucky enough to have on our doorstep in the game reserves throughout this country. I don’t know where else in the world people are granted access to the exclusivity of spending time alone with wild animals, deep in the bushveld. It is here that the madness of the daily grind fades, the pollution of noise and carbon dissipate, and the seamless progression of days into nights into days allow you to just sit, enjoy and possibly learn something small from a moment with that being. It’s moment such as these that make South African wildlife truly rock.

Popularity: 13% [?]

I was fortunate enough to receive photos of the Moses Mabhida stadium in Durban over email.

I managed to find a source for the photographs. Credit goes to Lefty Shivambu for the all of the photos.

Have a look for yourself.

Forget Greenpoint, Port Elizabeth or any other stadium, this one simply blows my mind.

images: Karen Lotter

Popularity: 18% [?]

I was fortunate enough to be invited to the launch of a fantastic new service online called the African Film Library.

What is the African Film Library?

The African Film Library is an M-Net initiative showcasing the best of the African film industry – making the movies easily accessible for movie aficionados around the world.

The African film industry is one of the oldest – with its roots in Ain el Ghezel (The Girl of Carthage), which was produced in Tunisia by Chemama Chikly in 1924. M-Net has spent the last three years negotiating the rights to almost 600 works in English, French, Arabic and Portuguese and digitally remastering them.

The library forms an important archive of the continent’s cultural cinematic heritage, and also, for the first time, makes the African artists’ works easily accessible by a wide viewership around the globe – creating a new audience for existing and emerging filmmakers.

The library consists of award-winning works from more than 80 producers including Senegalese Ousmane Sembene and Djibril Mambety, Yousef Chahine from Egypt and Haile Gerima from Ethiopia. – source

John Kani

John Kani formed a major part of the launch event held at Monte Casino.

Why? Because the man is a genius, put simply.

The film that we were shown as part of the launch has won many awards and was written by Kani. He also directed and starred in the film.

Nothing But The Truth

The awards that the film received were plentiful, see the list below:

Awards
2009: Fespaco – Silver Stallion award
2009: Fespaco – Inaugural Ousmane Sembene award for Peace
2009: Milan International film festival – Best African film
2009: Milan International film festival – Catholic Church peace prize
2009: Zimbabwe International Film Festival (ZIFF) – Best film; Best actor
2009: Youande film festival – Best Film

I am 100% in support of an initiative such as this one. The world needs to see that Africa has artistic offerings to match up with the rest of the world.

Do yourself a favour and burn your bandwidth at the African Film Library.

Popularity: 6% [?]

I blogged about the need for 15000 volunteers to come forward for the 2010 Football World Cup. It seems as thought people in SA and around the world are not shy to lend a hand.

SouthAfrica.info reports that over 11000 volunteers have already come forward and offered their services from all across the globe. That’s impressive if you ask me.

Just days after opening its 2010 Fifa World Cup volunteer programme, South Africa has already received more than 11 000 volunteer applications from the country, the continent and the rest of the world.

Danny Jordaan, chief executive of the 2010 World Cup Local Organising Committee (LOC), told reporters after a meeting in Johannesburg last week that around 1 100 of these were from the rest of Africa and 1 500 from overseas.

“South Africans and other countries have responded very well to the programme, and we expect more applications before the closing date [31 August],” Jordaan said.

“This … clearly shows that people are looking forward to the event in which volunteers are significantly important. We are very impressed with the current number of applications.”

Popularity: 14% [?]