Thursday, September 23, 2010

Hey Happy Braai day South Africa 24th September

There is no greater pleasure than to braai or BBQ

Yummy stays yummy

Braai Day is a celebration of our great country and its unique national pastime. We spend more time braaing than we do most other pastimes and we do it because we love it. The day aims to unite all South Africans on 24 September by encouraging them to partake in a fun and tangible activity shared by all demographic groups, religious denominations and body types

Oh my lord whatever you do pay your tax guys

Warning not for the feint hearted do not
look if you are a prude

That's just horrible ouch

How a Croc comes of second best to Hippos

This poor Croc made a big mistake by pissing of
a pod of Hippos

Ah Big Mouth crunch time

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Lady GaGa look alike found in South Africa

Ah thats just wrong
Click for larger Image
Nasty I tell you

Young Sipho learns a lesson in black and white....

Young Sipho

Young Sipho goes into the kitchen where his mother is baking.

He puts his hands in the flour and covers his head with it.

He says: "Look mamma, I am a white boy!"

His mother slaps him hard on the face and says:

"Sipho, go show your dad what you've done!!"

So he does, and his dad slaps him too.

His granny happens to be right next to his dad and she slaps him vehemently in disgust.

Then Sipho's mom says: "Did you learn something from all this?

The poor little Sipho shakes his head, crying and says:

"I did. I've only been a white boy for 5 minutes and I'm already shit scared of you blacks!"

"Tibetan Sky Burial" If you are grossed out by dead people don't go any further

OK so this is really icky but it is interesting to see how some cultures don't have the same reverence for the dead body that some of us do. I suppose ultimately it is a green way of doing things the ultimate in recycling!


Sky burial or ritual dissection was once a common funerary practice in Tibet wherein a human corpse is cut in specific locations and placed on a mountaintop, exposing it to the elements or the mahabhuta and animals – especially to birds of prey.  To Tibetans, many of whom adhere to Buddhism, their belief is in the rebirth of  soul.  Therefore to them, there is no need to preserve the body, as it is now an empty vessel.


Birds are encouraged to eat it, or nature may let it decompose. So the function of the sky burial is simply the disposal of the remains.  The preparation of  the body for this ritual is fairly simple and yet, rather gruesome: the flesh is stripped from the body with the bones being  broken up with sledgehammers and then fed to vultures.


While Communist China outlawed this practice in the 1960s, it was legalized again in the 1980s and is still being practiced today.

Bones being broken up with a hammer

When Jumbo met Beaver

What a big nose you have

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

The dangers of Charades when played by morons!

A glimmer of hope president Zuma has balls after all!

Delegates applaud president's tough line

ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema suffered a major defeat yesterday as President Jacob Zuma stamped his authority on the ruling party and read the riot act to his detractors.

Zuma set the tone at the start of the ANC national general council meeting by going on the offensive. He slammed the youth league for its campaign for leadership changes in 2012 and its demand for the nationalisation of mines.

He also attacked Cosatu for demanding radical changes to the composition of the tripartite alliance, as well for as its role in the recent violent public-sector strike.

Malema had come to the NGC, in Durban, with the objective of launching a campaign to have ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe replaced by Deputy Police Minister Fikile Mbalula in 2012. The league is also known to be campaigning against Zuma standing for a second term as party leader.

But Zuma and Mantashe told delegates that the succession campaign could destroy the ruling party.

"Mobilising and lobbying for succession so early also gives a wrong impression that the ANC comprises groups of people who are preoccupied with fighting for influential positions to advance personal interests instead of advancing the programme of the organisation," Zuma said.

In his organisational report delivered later in the day, Mantashe was more scathing.

"An emerging perception is that daggers are always drawn and there is no political life other than vying for positions in the ANC .

"The way we handle each other publicly promotes this negative image and the ANC can ill afford to be in a state of lobbying from one conference to the next. The [ANC] pays heavily whenever there are public fights and bleeds profusely out of self-inflicted wounds."

Malema, who arrived at the conference hall late, when Zuma was already speaking, sat quietly as the president tore into the youth league and urged the NGC to take action against its leaders.

"It is clear that the time has come for the [ANC] to act. We must take a decision that those who engage in such activities are, in fact, undermining the organisation and its work, and, at worst, undermining the unity of the organisation. Action must be taken against them," Zuma said.

Malema's other objective ahead of the NGC was to convince delegates to expunge his disciplinary record relating to charges the ANC leadership brought against him earlier this year.

But if the massive applause of Zuma's insistence that the youth league was subordinate to ANC decisions is anything to go by, he has a mountain to climb.

"The ANC constitution clearly describes this relationship of the ANC with its own leagues . The ANC is not in alliance with its own leagues, nor are the leagues alliance partners of the ANC. They are structures of the organisation," he said.

A dejected youth league delegation held a caucus meeting during the lunch break at which its leaders argued that, despite Zuma's tirade and the obvious support he received from delegates, they should forge ahead with their mandate of lobbying for the adoption of nationalisation of mines as ANC policy.

Malema refused to comment on Zuma's remarks, saying the political report was still to be discussed by the NGC.

Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said it accepted the ANC's criticism and would discuss the matter when the two organisations met later this year.

Monday, September 20, 2010

Father Johns key to heaven!


It was time for Father John's Saturday night bath and young Sister Magdalene Edwards had prepared the bath water and towels just the way the old nun had instructed. Sister Magdalene Edwards was also instructed not to look at Fr. John's nakedness if she could help it, do whatever he told her to do, and pray.

The next morning the old nun asked Sister Magdalene how the Saturday night bath had done. "Oh, sister," said the young nun dreamily. "I've been saved." "Saved? And how did that fine thing come about?" asked the old nun. "Well, when Fr. John was soaking in the tub, he asked me to wash him, and while I was washing him he guided my hand down between his legs where he said the Lord keeps the Key to Heaven."

"Did he now," said the old nun evenly. Sister Magdalene continued, "And Fr. John said that if the Key to Heaven fit my lock, the portals of Heaven would be opened to me and I would be assured of salvation and eternal peace. And then Father John guided his Key to Heaven into my lock."

"Is that a fact," said the old nun even more evenly. "At first it hurt terribly, but Fr. John said the pathway to salvation was often painful and that the glory of God would soon swell my heart with ecstasy. And it did, it felt so good being saved."

"That wicked old Devil," said the old nun. "He told me it was Gabriel's Horn, and I've been blowing it for 40 years!"

You got to love the Scots

I was testing children in my Glasgow Sunday school class to see if they understood the concept of getting into heaven.

I asked them, “If I sold my house and my car, had a big jumble sale and gave all my money to the church, would that get me into heaven?”

“NO!” the children answered.

“If I cleaned the church every day, mowed the garden and kept everything tidy, would that get me into heaven?”

Again, the answer was ‘No!’

By now I was starting to smile.

“Well, then, if I was kind to animals and gave sweeties to all the children, and loved my husband, would that get me into heaven?”

Again, they all answered ‘No!’

I was just bursting with pride for them.

I continued, “Then how can I get into heaven?”

A six year old boy shouted,

“Yuv goat tae be fookin’ deid”

Kinda brings a wee tear tae yir e’eye......

Nadine Gordimer climbs back into the fight against governments attack on free media

Twenty years after she played an active role in opposing apartheid, writer Nadine Gordimer is fighting again, this time against government's plans to muzzle the media. She tells Stephen Moss why

'Where do you get your energy from?," I ask Nadine Gordimer, Nobel laureate and lifelong fighter for freedom. This is probably a naff, ageist question, and I wonder how the 86-year-old, who has a reputation for intellectual rigour bordering on fierceness, will react. Happily, she is not insulted.

"Who knows where you get it from?" she says. "You must muster your resources and do what you have to do."

What she feels she has to do at the moment is oppose government's draconian proposals to muzzle the media. The proposed Protection of Information Bill and media tribunal are seen by critics as the greatest threat to press freedom since the apartheid era.

If passed, the measures would allow the government to ban the publication of material deemed detrimental to "the survival and security of the state". The catch-all phrase "national interest" would allow it to close down discussion of any topic which threatened to embarrass those in power. It is these proposals which have led Gordimer to don her campaign armour once more and go into battle against a government she believes may be about to reverse the democratic gains of the past two ­decades.

With fellow writer André Brink, she has drawn up a petition which has so far gathered eminent names such as award-winning novelist JM Coetzee, academic and writer Njabulo Ndebele and actor and playwright John Kani. The petition was formally presented to President Jacob Zuma two weeks ago and Gordimer hopes writers will be able to join the Bar Council and media organisations to build a concerted opposition to the proposals.

Does she find it ironic that, almost 20 years after helping to overturn apartheid, she now finds herself having to fight the government which replaced that hated system? "It is more than an irony," she says.

"People died in the freedom struggle and to think that having gained freedom at such a cost, it is now indeed threatened again. All writers are threatened by censorship and censorship is the reality lurking behind the words 'media tribunal'. We are protesting against the institution of a media tribunal, which of course means 'word police', not merely on our own behalf. Writing presupposes an interaction with readers.

"If the work and the freedom of the writer are in jeopardy, the freedom of every reader in South Africa is too. Our protest is an action undertaken by South Africans for all South Africans, committing ourselves to a demand for our free country: freedom of thought expressed, freedom of dialogue, freedom from fear of the truth about ourselves."

I ask whether she ever thought she would have to return to the fray in defence of basic democratic rights. "No, I never thought I would have to fight them [government] again," she says. "But this takes us back to some of the aspects of apartheid. It threatens the basis of democratic freedom. Freedom of expression, along with the vote, is the basis of democracy. That is the crux of it."

So, does it make her despair that a government, a new way of ordering life in South Africa, could go back to some of the bad old ways, fearful of openness and protective of privilege? "No, I don't despair. Life is so uncertain. All you can do is pursue your convictions of what is right. Your convictions don't change. I think now what I thought 20 years ago."

Gordimer accepts that the people who will be most affected if the government pursues its proposals are journalists. But she says creative writers, too, will suffer an insidious attack on their freedom: because they often rely on material unearthed by journalists, but also because their intellectual space becomes fenced in, their imagination chained.

"We, too, are threatened by the denial of freedom of the word, which is our form of expression of the lives of the people of South Africa. Journalists give us the facts, but in poetry and plays and novels there is a level of deep complexity and that would be confined within the forces of government. Our aim is to explore life."

In an essay titled "A Writer's Freedom", published at the height of apartheid in 1976 and reproduced in her recent book Telling Times, she explained why freedom -- from fashion and conformity as well as from government interference -- is vital.

"Any government, any society -- any vision of a future society -- that has respect for its writers must set them as free as possible to write in their own various ways, in their own choices of form and language and according to their own discovery of truth."

At the end of that essay, she quotes Ivan Turgenev: "Without freedom in the widest sense of the word ... a true artist is unthinkable; without that air, it is impossible to breathe."

Under apartheid, several of Gordimer's books were banned -- A World of Strangers (1958) for 12 years, The Late Bourgeois World (1966) for 10, and several other novels for shorter periods. But she refused to be cowed and remained in South Africa while many of her contemporaries left. "Exile," she once said, "is a terrible thing, even in comfort."

She played a prominent role in opposing censorship and helped found the Congress of South African Writers, but has always rejected the label of "political writer", fearing being seen as a propagandist or conformist. "You serve your cause best by telling that bit of truth that you have discovered, as you know it," she said in 2003.

Propagandists believe they have a monopoly on truth; writers recognise their own fallibility -- not "the truth", but the "truth as you know it". It is perhaps not the direct assault of the proposed new clampdown on writers' freedoms that she fears most, but its encouragement of a climate in which writers are denied what in her 1976 essay she calls a "private view".

In a world in which the government decides what can be published, what material threatens the national interest, writers have to take sides; they are forced to become political and can no longer be themselves.

Writing becomes a weapon, rather than an intellectual adventure.

Gordimer emphasises that her petition has attracted support from writers reflecting all parts of the population -- white, black, Indian, English and Afrikaans-speaking.

She is aware of the danger of the government painting her as a wealthy white writer out of touch with the new political realities in South Africa. She experienced that sort of pigeonholing in 2001, when her novel July's People, published in 1981 and imagining a civil war in South Africa, was labelled "racist" and banned by one provincial education department.

"Our protest has nothing to do with race or colour," she tells me.

When I ask whether these measures are being considered as a way of covering up corruption by government officials, Gordimer says she has to choose her words carefully.

"I must be careful of what I say. There is a great deal of corruption in high places and it is surely clear that these prospective laws would mean a protection for people who fear to be exposed."

One irony that does strike her is the use of the term "security of the state", a piece of Orwellian double-think if ever there was one.

"The government says that the basis on which these Bills would be introduced is protection of information that would endanger the security of the state," she says.

"We have no intention of endangering the security of the state. The muzzling of freedom of expression is in itself a threat to the security of the state and as writers and as citizens our intention is to demonstrate that." -- © Guardian News & Media 2010
Original Link http://www.mg.co.za/gordimer-gets-back-in-the-fray

Friday, September 17, 2010

'Cock a doodle doo' now thats a taxing question?

Tax time questions

A woman walks into an accountant's office and tells him that she needs to file her taxes..

The accountant says, "Before we begin, I'll need to ask you a few questions."

He gets her name, address, Identity number, etc. and then asks,"What's your occupation?"

"I'm a prostitute," she says.

The accountant is somewhat taken aback and says, " Let's try to rephrase that."

The woman says, "OK, I'm a high-end call girl".

"No, that still won't work. Try again."

They both think for a minute; then the woman says, "I'm an elite chicken farmer."

The accountant asks, "What does chicken farming have to do with being a prostitute?"

"Well, I raised a thousand cocks last year."
"Chicken Farmer it is."

Thursday, September 16, 2010

I ate a serious curry yesterday and it reminded me of a funny story!


And so to the story...
Annual Curry Cook-off

Royal Show in Pietermaritzburg South Africa

The story is about Frank Judge #3 who was an inexperienced food critic, who was visiting from America.

Frank: "Recently, I was honoured to be selected as a judge at a Curry Cook-off. The original person called in sick at the last moment and I happened to be standing there at the judge's table asking for directions to the Beer Garden when the call came in. I was assured by the other two judges (Natal Indians) that the curry wouldn't be all that spicy and, besides, they told me I could have free beer during the tasting, so I accepted".

Here are the scorecard notes from the event:

CURRY # 1 - SEELAN'S MANIAC MONSTER TOMATO CURRY.

Judge # 1 -- A little too heavy on the tomato. Amusing kick.

Judge # 2-- Nice smooth tomato flavour. Very mild.

Judge # 3-- (Frank) -- Holy sh!t, what the hell is this stuff? You could remove dried paint from your driveway. Took me two beers to put the flames out. I hope that's the worst one. These people are crazy.

CHILLI #2 - PHOENIXBBQ CHICKEN CURRY.

Judge # 1-- Smoky, with a hint of chicken. Slight chilli tang.

Judge # 2 -- Exciting BBQ flavour, needs more peppers to be taken seriously.

Judge # 3-- Keep this out of the reach of children. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to taste besides pain. I had to wave off two people who wanted to give me the Heimlich manoeuvre! They had to rush in more beer when they saw the look on my face.

CURRY # 3 - SHAMILA'S FAMOUS "BURN DOWN THE GARAGE" CURRY.

Judge # 1-- Excellent firehouse curry. Great kick.

Judge # 2-- A bit salty, good use of chilli peppers.

Judge # 3-- Call 911. I've located a uranium spill. My nose feels like I have been snorting Drain Cleaner. Everyone knows the routine by now. Get me more beer before I ignite. Barmaid pounded me on the back, now my backbone is in the front part of my chest. I'm getting pissed from all the beer.

CHILLI # 4 - BABOO'S BLACK MAGIC BEAN CURRY...

Judge # 1-- Black bean curry with almost no spice. Disappointing.

Judge # 2-- Hint of lime in the black beans. Good side dish for fish or other mild foods, not much of a curry.

Judge # 3-- I felt something scraping across my tongue, but was unable to taste it. Is it possible to burn out taste buds? Shareen, the beer maid, was standing behind me with fresh refills. That 200kg woman is starting to look HOT...just like this nuclear waste I'm eating! Is chilli an aphrodisiac?

CHILLI # 5 LALL'S LEGAL LIP REMOVER...

Judge # 1-- Meaty, strong curry. Cayenne peppers freshly ground, adding considerable kick. Very impressive.

Judge # 2-- Average beef curry, could use more tomato. Must admit the chilli peppers make a strong statement.

Judge # 3 -- My ears are ringing, sweat is pouring off my forehead and I can no longer focus my eyes. I farted and four people behind me needed paramedics. The contestant seemed offended when I told her that her chilli had given me brain damage. Shareen saved my tongue from bleeding by pouring beer directly on it from the pitcher. I wonder if I'm burning my lips off. It really pi$$es me off that the other judges asked me to stop screaming. Screw them.

CHILLI # 6 - VERISHNEE'S VEGETARIAN VARIETY...

Judge # 1-- Thin yet bold vegetarian variety curry. Good balance of spices and peppers.

Judge # 2-- The best yet. Aggressive use of peppers, onions, and garlic. Superb.

Judge # 3-- My intestines are now a straight pipe filled with gaseous, sulphuric flames. I am definitely going to sh!t myself if I fart and I'm worried it will eat through the chair. No one seems inclined to stand behind me except that Shareen. Can't feel my lips anymore. I need to wipe my ass with a snow cone ice-cream.

CHILLI # 7 - SELINA'S "MOTHER-IN-LAW'S-TONGUE" CURRY...

Judge # 1-- A mediocre curry with too much reliance on canned peppers.

Judge # 2-- Ho hum, tastes as if the chef literally threw in a can of chilli peppers at the last moment. (I should take note at this stage that I am worried about Judge # 3. He appears to be in a bit of distress as he is cursing uncontrollably).

Judge # 3-- You could put a grenade in my mouth, pull the pin, and I wouldn't feel a thing. I've lost sight in one eye, and the world sounds like it is made of rushing water. My shirt is covered with curry which slid unnoticed out of my mouth. My pants are full of lava to match my shirt. At least, during the autopsy, they'll know what killed me. I've decided to stop breathing- it's too painful. Screw it; I'm not getting any oxygen anyway. If I need air I'll just suck it in through the 4-inch hole in my stomach.

CHILLI # 8 - NAIDOO'S TOENAIL CURLING CURRY...

Judge # 1-- The perfect ending. This is a nice blend

curry. Not too bold but spicy enough to declare its existence.

Judge # 2-- This final entry is a good, balanced

curry. Neither mild nor hot. Sorry to see that most of it was lost when

Judge #3 farted, passed out, fell over and pulled the curry pot down on

top of himself.

Not sure if he's going to make it. Poor man, wonder

how he'd have reacted to really hot curry?

Judge # 3 - No Report.

What's the biggest Gold Fish you have seen?

Koi Carp Or Giant Gold Fish
Think you could call him Nemo Senior

Raphael Biagini took ten minutes to reel in this monster during a fishing trip in France.  At 30 pounds, it is believed to be the largest koi carp ever caught.  Once Raphael took some time to catch his breath and take a picture with his catch, he was forced to release the giant gold fish.  Why would he do such a thing you might ask?  Simple.  He just didn't have a big enough bowl to keep it in.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

South African "Gatsby" a sandwich to rule them all

The one and only Gatsby


Traditionally a Cape Town speciality, Gatsby's are especially popular across the Cape Flats and most of the take away outlets that sell them are Halaal. Basically a Gatsby consists of a baguette stuffed with hot chips, meat such as masala steak or polony, and a hot sauce or pickle such as atchar. It is probably loosely based on the American Hoagie, Italian sandwich.



Super size me

These things are amazing it is a full meal in one foul swoop, and they come in amazing different flavours and forms. Some exotics even have fish in them and are called "Katkops" others have Calamari in them. There are chicken Gatsby's but all of them have fries in otherwise they not Gatsby's. Whatever you have in them they good and they fill you up like a ton of cement and are the real heavy weights in takeaway cuisine

Animals have a sixth sense about danger

You can see it in there eyes

Retro adverts are always good for a laugh

Nice carry case very discreet
Nice one not so sure about the pounding strokes though
obviously size was not an issue them days

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

A Long Way From Mandela’s Kitchen by Andre Brink

This article by South African writer Andre Brink is as it appeared in the New York Times this weekend past

TWENTY years ago the most famous prisoner in the world, Nelson Mandela, walked out of jail and began the process of leading his people to democracy. Today, that new South Africa faces its starkest challenge yet in the form of two pieces of anti-press legislation that would make even the most authoritarian government proud.

One, cynically named the Protection of Information bill, would give the government excessively broad powers to classify information in the “national interest”; the other, which would create a “media appeals tribunal” to regulate the printed and electronic press, is written in language chillingly reminiscent of that used by the apartheid regime to defend censorship in the ’70s.

This was not Mr. Mandela’s vision: the new South Africa was meant to be synonymous with freedom and openness on all levels.

I remember a story about a reporter for South Africa’s Sunday Times who, soon after Mr. Mandela came to power, went to the presidential residence late one afternoon for an interview. When he arrived, he realized he had the appointment time wrong, and he was a few hours early.

It was a late summer day, and all the doors and windows were open. The journalist walked around the splendid old colonial building, knocking on some of the doors, but there was no answer. The place seemed deserted, an odd circumstance after half a century of the guards and dogs and iron railings that had protected all public buildings.

At last the journalist ventured inside through a back door and started wandering down the sprawling halls, still without being stopped by anybody. He was on the point of skulking away when a sound from the kitchen attracted his attention. There he found Mr. Mandela, preparing himself a cup of tea and a sandwich. Evidently pleased to find he had company, the president invited the journalist to share his meal with him.

This is not necessarily a state of affairs to be recommended, but it does say something about the mood in the country at the time. Everything was infused with this new sense of openness, of self-reflection and honesty. Looking back at the few years that followed Mr. Mandela’s walk to freedom after his release from prison, one is tempted to exclaim with Wordsworth, “Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive.”

The euphoria surrounding Mr. Mandela and the new South Africa began to erode soon after he left office. Yet there is one achievement that has steadily become the last fallback position of hope in the country: the freedom of expression. In the face of corruption or the abuse of power, from the president’s office down to the lowliest official, the right of the press and the people to express themselves has been offered as a remedy.

But now even that is eroding. Our leaders since Mr. Mandela have been deeply resistant to criticism and truth-telling. This was true of Mr. Mandela’s successor, Thabo Mbeki, and it is even more true of the current president, Jacob Zuma, whose government and party, the African National Congress, proposed the new censorship measures.

Though he took over with broad populist support, Mr. Zuma has ushered in a new kind of silence that is threatening to take the place of ordinary communication. His proposed legislation betrays a dangerous attitude toward the word, written or spoken. It has been said that the prime function of the word is to interrogate silence; but if silence becomes sequestered beyond the reach of words, of language, of the press, of literature, that space becomes inhabited by lies and distortions, pretenses and subterfuges and inadequacies of all kinds.

The proposals do more than just negate the legacy of Mr. Mandela’s era of transparency; they recall, particularly for writers like myself, the worst of the apartheid regime.

One of my novels had the dubious distinction of being the first book in Afrikaans to be banned under apartheid. As I learned, censorship involved much more than the removal of books from the shelves. When a book was prohibited, it was entered into The Government Gazette, the public record of government activities, and into the notorious Jacobsen’s Index, a record of banned literature that at one point included more than 20,000 titles. Once in the index, a book drew the attention of the brutal Security Police — particularly if it was banned for endangering the “security of the state.”

Such attention meant the author could expect a visit from the Special Branch, which policed internal security threats, to be interrogated and have his books and manuscripts and typewriters confiscated; if the author was black, he ran the risk of immediate arrest. He might be detained without official explanation. He might simply disappear.

Whites were always in a slightly less dangerous situation, but it was never easy. On one occasion I was removed from a plane bound for London and ordered to open my suitcase for inspection. The officers were unable to find anything incriminating. After I demanded to know the reason for the search, they finally explained that they had been tipped off that I would be trying to smuggle copies of my banned book to London. Considering that I was actually on my way to London for the book’s publication, I felt as if I was in a tale by John le Carré, if not Lewis Carroll.

President Zuma defends his proposed measures as a means of strengthening our young democracy and making human rights and the freedom of expression more vibrantly viable. But those of us who lived through the previous regime, which relied so heavily on censorship for survival, know it doesn’t work that way.

How a government that owes its very existence to its faith in the indivisibility of freedom can now so easily betray that faith is beyond belief. It is not just an act of foolishness, but of apocalyptic arrogance.

André Brink is the author of “A Dry White Season” and, most recently, the memoir “A Fork in the Road.”

A version of this op-ed appeared in print on September 12, 2010, on page WK13 of the New York edition.

If you go down to the Beach today you in for a big surprise

Oh hell reminds me of a friends mother

Die Antword and there latest album "$0$" cover

Some kind of cult look I think?
Weird stuff!

OK so South African rave rap zef group Die Antwoord have shown us their latest album $O$ and it features a naked Yolandi Visser on the cover art. Yolandi has the naughty bits covered by some dead creatures that look like furry Beavers unlike her own shawn beaver :0)

As for our friend Ninja well he has gone for some kind of Dracula meets the hooded monk look which i must say is a great improvement on his regular look. It seems our friends are trying to emulate the shock factor that Lady Gaga has made so famous. Well whatever just not my cup of tea but if it's yours enjoy....

Monday, September 13, 2010

Tourist train derailed by thieves seems nothing is safe anymore!

This was the scene yesterday after a steam-hauled tourist train carrying 627 people derailed near Cullinan after thieves removed some 40 wooden sleepers during the night.

Barring a few minor cuts and bruises, no-one was hurt as the train, operated by Pretoria-based steam club Friends of the Rail, was travelling very slowly when it derailed on the approach to Cullinan station.

The locomotive – which dedicated volunteers spent many years restoring to working order – was substantially damaged.

Sleepers “tie” the rails to the trackbed. Without sleepers, the rails would spread and topple under the weight of a train – which is what happened yesterday. Because the sleepers sit in a “ballast” of stones, it is almost impossible to see from the locomotive cab if they are missing.

Sleeper theft is one of South Africa’s hidden scourges. The sleepers, made from hard Australian yarra wood, are highly prized for making furniture – and sometimes for firewood – and in recent years, railway lines all over SA have been targeted by sleeper thieves. Some lines have lost so many sleepers that they have been closed since the cost of replacement has been deemed uneconomic.

Yesterday’s derailment happened on a line that sees many tourist trains during the year. The thieves don’t really care about the consequences, either for innocent passengers or for tourism as a whole. The cost of repairing the locomotive will be a heavy burden for the club which receives no funding other than what it earns from running tourist trains. The cost of repairing the damaged track will run into many thousands of rand – and Transnet is not keen to spend money looking after lines that are not part of its core network.

So, for the sake of a few hundred rands, a viable and growing tourism business gets a kick in the head. Meanwhile, because sleeper theft has a direct and punitive effect on the state of SA’s transport infrastructure, any investigation should examine the supply and demand chain. Where are these sleepers going and why?

PHOTOS: The top picture shows the locomotive, 15F No.3117, lying on its side after the derailment, top, and the bolts have been unscrewed and the sleepers slid out from under the rails, below. PICTURES: Courtesy of Friends of the Rail

How many of you remember this grand old dame the Boeing 727

SAA Boeing 727

Well, in the little tsunami of adulation over the Boeing 747’s 41st birthday this year, nobody remembered that the sweet and sexy Boeing 727 turned 47 on February 9. So, size does count, after all. Too bad for the 727, then, one of the sleekest and most eye-catching airliners ever built. Those three engines clustered around the high, swept-back T-tail? Beautiful!

Sitting in front of a 727 on take-off was, I imagine, like flying on a magic carpet – sweet, quiet and fast.

The very first 727 flew on February 9, 1963. The photo shows the first take-off from the Boeing plant at Renton. Having proved the type’s worth as an airliner, the same aircraft was sold to United Airlines on October 6, 1964. She spent her whole career at United, racking-up 64 495 hours, 48 060 landings, and carried an estimated three million passengers. The airline paid $4.4 million for the aircraft, and earned about $300 million from it. Quite some return on investment.

She is now in the Museum of Flight in Seattle, sporting original United Airlines colours.

Around here, the much-lamented Nationwide Airlines was the last South African operator of passenger-configured 727s. Some linger on in freight service. If you ever get the chance to fly on one, do.

I told you that sitting on that banana was a bad idea!

Deepest Darkest Africa
Aw that's just nasty

Friday, September 10, 2010

PETA what about my cute pet in the bed!

Aw that's wrong "naughty boy" I am
Ouch somebody has a point not sure who :0)

Oh man try these Bacon wrapped Shrimp or prawns on the Braai or BBQ

Ingredients

12 large, raw, peeled and deveined shrimp

2 Tbsp olive oil

Zest from 1 lime

Juice from one lime (about 2 Tbsp)

1/4 teaspoon Chili powder (or more to taste)

6 strips thin bacon, cut in half (12 pieces)

Skewers (for grilling) or toothpicks (for oven)

Method

1 Mix together in a small bowl the lime zest, lime juice, olive oil, and chili powder. Put the shrimp in the lime chili mixture; make sure each piece is well coated.

2 Spread the bacon pieces out over several layers of paper towels on a microwave-safe plate. Cover with another layer of paper towel. Microwave on high until the bacon fat begins to melt but the bacon is still pliable, about 1 1/2 minutes.

3 Prepare grill or braai, direct heat (if grilling) or preheat the oven to 450°F.

4 Working one at a time, wrap a half piece of microwaved bacon around each piece of shrimp. If you are grilling, thread the shrimp onto long, flat skewers (flat skewers make turning the shrimp on the grill easier). If you don't have flat skewers, I've used two thin bamboo skewers (soaked in water for 30 minutes beforehand) to the same effect. If you are using the oven, secure each the bacon onto the shrimp with toothpicks. Place the bacon-wrapped shrimp on a slotted baking pan (lined with foil inside for easy cleaning). Brush remaining lime chili mixture on the outside of the bacon-wrapped shrimp.

These make seriously good snacks or starters and go down a treat with cold beers. Best to make 2 dozen as they go down quick

ZA news is so funny today had to post it "Featuring Jules and the General"

Jules and the General have a go at Journalists again


ZA NEWS DAILY 10/09/10 from ZANEWS on Vimeo.

Why men should not take messages.....

Beer how is it that beer always comes into the conversation

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Lady GaGa and a novel way of carrying your Braai - BBQ meat around

Got to admit it's well Hung
Ah One Crazy GaGa Chick
Over the top as usual

If men wrote womans magazines what would they look like?

What do you think?





Nice I think men do a better job

We are so race fixated! Its pathetic that 16 years into democracy white kids are still being punished for being white!

Jonathan Jansen: A firestorm has broken out at the University of Cape Town over the question as to whether race should be used to determine admission to university studies.

In the case of its medical school, UCT not only calculates different admissions criteria for white and black students, it further determines differential pass rates for Indian students versus coloured students versus African students.

The vice-chancellor, Dr Max Price, is adamant that this is the best available methodology for racial redress at UCT; his fiercest critic, Dr Neville Alexander, argues exactly the opposite - that race labels do more harm than good in a post-apartheid democracy. The irony of the two positions is itself intriguing: a white man defending racial redress, a black man criticising it.

The question of course is not racial redress: all our institutions, and especially UCT, need to repair the damage of the past, not only as far as the racial demography of its student body is concerned, but especially in terms of staffing equity.

In years past, UCT has been more likely to hire an academic from England, to which the academic umbilical cord still remains firmly attached, than it was likely to hire a top black professor from South Africa. The university as much as acknowledged this fact in its public apology to the brilliant scholar Professor Archie Mafeje for not appointing him despite more than one opportunity to do so.

The central question in the UCT debacle is whether we can correct apartheid's wrongs by invoking the very racial categories that offended and divided us in the past.

I cannot think of anything more bizarre, for the manner in which UCT approaches the question of redress is the best way of keeping apartheid-thinking alive and well in the consciousness of most South Africans.

As critics of UCT's policy correctly assert, using race to determine admission is meaningless in the suburban economy of that institution, where the top academic schools have enrolled more and more black students of all stripes over the past two decades. This means black children at schools like Bishops, Westerford or SACS are less likely to be first-generation university students than was the case 10 or more years ago.

These children are not disadvantaged, at least not educationally or materially; in fact, more and more of these black students appear in the top 10% of their class and assume leadership positions throughout their schools. To advantage such students in entrance to economics or medicine at UCT is laughable.

Some deep thinkers would claim that disadvantage is more than the school you attend or the amount of money in the home. Disadvantage is also psychological, those barriers to confidence that remain long after material differences are resolved between white and black.

Frankly, I find this to be a shaky argument when it comes to the middle classes of whatever colour.

All young people struggle with confidence, poor children more than those from well-resourced families. All young people find the adjustment to university difficult, especially those with less money. Black children from well-to-do homes do as well as white children whose families are similarly well-off. So what is the problem?

The problem is class, not race. There is a much greater disparity (in terms of resources, confidence and university preparation) between black students from Khayelitsha and Manenberg, in the Cape, than there is between a white or black student from Wynberg Boys or Girls High School.

Where you studied matters; where you live matters; whether you parents have a job, or whether there are computers and books in your home, matters. The degree of pigmentation of the student is, to be honest, irrelevant.

Of course what intellectuals like Neville Alexander realise is that retaining those ridiculous four racial categories is a prescriptive act; it not only selects students for studies at one of South Africa's most prestigious universities, it also instils in the minds of young people ways of thinking about themselves and others.

Race categories order the world for students in the same way it did for their parents before the 1990s. This is the great danger facing social transformation in South Africa.

When my student leaders at the University of the Free State came to see me recently, they asked that we do away with racial specifications in the choice of the HKs (Huiskomitees) of each residence.

As one who grew up in the old apartheid system, I was reluctant, for students tend to choose leaders who look like them. That happened in some cases, but there were more good news stories: Emily Hobhouse residence chose their first black koshuis "prime" in their history a few weeks ago. We should listen to our young people.

Jonathan Jansen's original post http://www.timeslive.co.za/Race-holds-us-back-after-class

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Julius Malema South Africa’s Mini Mugabe spews nationalisation song again

ANC Youth League president Julius Malema yesterday ramped up his nationalisation campaign - attacking ANC leaders for denouncing their own policies and labelling mining magnates corrupt thieves.

Malema took a swipe at his political leaders for failing the poor in favour of foreign investors and by enriching their families.

Though he did not specifically mention President Jacob Zuma, Malema said politicians and their families should not benefit from preferential treatment when it came to lucrative state tenders.

Zuma's son, Duduzane, is part of a consortium that recently won a lucrative empowerment deal from ArcelorMittal SA.

Zuma's nephew, Khulubuse Zuma, and former president Nelson Mandela's grandson, Zondwa, last year secured a R215-million contract from gold miner Pamodzi.

Speaking at the Mining for Change conference in Sandton, Malema said: "We must not allow politicians and their families to be enriched and preferred above others. It can't be correct when people continue to steal from the poor."

But Zuma and other top ANC officials insist that the issue of nationalisation is a debate and not government or ANC policy.

Yesterday, ANC spokesman Jackson Mthembu refused to be drawn into the debate, saying he was not going to comment every time Malema spoke.

"The ANC does not have a view, it is not our policy," Mthembu said.

But, in his speech, Malema said: "When you say that it is not our policy, you are denouncing the Freedom Charter."

He dragged struggle icons Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo into the fray, saying that they had made clear when signing the Freedom Charter in 1955 that nationalisation was an ANC policy.

"Nelson Mandela made it clear that nationalisation is a policy of the ANC," Malema said.

He said the league was merely echoing Mandela's view on the matter and that the ANCYL was not just a "group of anarchists" since "great leaders have said it before".

Malema, who was recently disciplined for publicly criticising ANC leaders, said they were quick to talk about discipline, but "only when it suits them".

"Everyone, juniors and seniors, must respect the policies of the ANC," he said.

In a blunt attack on foreign investors and mine owners - some of whom where present - Malema said South Africans had suffered far too long and that now was the time to own "what we fought for".

To privately owned mining companies he said: "You are the most corrupt people who take our minerals. That is stealing from the poor. You have no shame about that."

Miners, he said, risked their lives for a pittance.

"Mining companies have no interest in our people . After playing golf they check their bank balances, cause that's all they are interested in."

Malema said when nationalisation was implemented, the government would be "very selective" and only completely take over mining operations of national importance.

He warned that nationalisation would result in the government owning 60% of mines, with 40% going to private companies which would pay taxes and royalties, leaving them with about 10% profit.

Earlier yesterday, Joel Netshitenzhe, executive director of the Maphungubwe Institute of Strategic Reflection and a member of the ANC's national executive committee, said a strategic national plan for the mining sector needed to be developed before looking at nationalisation of mines.

"The level of state participation . will be informed by the effectiveness of the mining sector strategy arising out of a compact among all players," he said.

Netshitenzhe said a change in the mindset of all players in the sector was necessary.

Another difficulty was ensuring a licensing system that was "competitive and transparent" and preventing "squatting" (acquiring licences and failing to mine) and ensuring that windfalls during boom periods were shared "equitably".

Department of Mineral Resources spokesman Jeremy Michaels said the country's mineral wealth had been vested in the hands of the state since the inception of the Mineral and Petroleum Development Act that came into effect in 2004.

"While the nationalisation of mines is a debate within the ruling party, it is not government policy," Michaels said.

Original Post http://www.timeslive.co.za/-fought-for

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Huge Crock shot in Zimbabwe

Click on the pic for full size image
Thanks John
Thats one real big flat dog

Spring & time for something fresh and funky like Seafood Paella

I like Paella it is different and yet homely
and comforting much like a Potjie

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped
1 green pepper, seeded and finely chopped

1 red or orange pepper, seeded and cut into strips

2 carrots, peeled and cut into julienne strips

2 cloves of crushed garlic

2 tomatoes, skinned and finely chopped

1 tsp saffron

350g long-grain rice

1kg mixed seafood (fish, prawns, calamari and mussels)

2-3 tbsp fresh coriander or parsley, chopped

200g Fresh peas

fresh limes or lemons, cut into wedges

Method:

1.Heat olive oil in a large frying pan.

2.Add onion, green and red peppers and carrots, and fry over a low heat for two minutes.

3.Add garlic, tomatoes and saffron and fry for three minutes.

4.Add the rice and stir well to make sure the rice is well coated.

5.Add about 800ml water or seafood stock and bring to the boil.

6.Simmer for 10 minutes.

7.Add seafood, coriander and sugar snap peas and stir well.

8.Cover and simmer for a further 10 -15 minutes.

9.Add a little water if it gets too dry.

10.The dish is ready once the mussels open and the rice is tender.

11.Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, coriander and lemon wedges.

Eat with a good bottle of white wine or jugs of Sangria

South African Sales guys are good.....

THE SOUTH AFRICAN APPROACH

A young Johanesburg lad moved to London and went to Harrods looking for a job. The manager asked 'Do you have any sales experience?'

The young man answered 'Yeah, I was a salesman back home in Benoni at the 24 Hour filling station..'

The manager liked the guy so he gave him the job.

His first day was challenging and busy, but he got through it.

After the store was locked up, the manager came down and asked, 'OK, so how many sales did you make today?'

The guy said 'One!'

The manager groaned and continued, 'Just one? Our sales people average 20 or 30 sales a day.

How much was the sale for?'

'£124,237.64p.'

The manager choked and exclaimed, '£124,237.64!! What the hell did you sell him?'

'Well, first I sold him a small fish hook, then a medium fish hook and then I sold him a new fishing rod.'

'Then I asked him where he was going fishing and he said down at the coast, so I told him he would need a boat, so we went down to the boat department and I sold him that twin-engine Power Cat.'

'Then he said he didn't think his Honda Civic would pull it, so I took him down to car sales and I sold him the 4 x4.'

The manager, incredulous, said, 'You mean to tell me...a guy came in here to buy a fish hook and you sold him a boat and a 4x4?'

'No, no, no... he came in here to buy a box of tampons for his lady friend and I said...

'Well, since your weekend's buggered, you might as well go fishing...'