OSABAMA NEWS SPINS
WITH the 24-hour news channels churning out "news" as they would have us believe it happens; it becomes increasing difficult to seperate truth from myth.
Pakistani channels like GEO TV and Urdu TV talk about an Osama bin Laden who put up very little resistance to the American assassins to the Western news channels telling us their president could take no chances. People in the compound were armed.
What is clear is it's election time.
In the same way the Bush wardogs used Osama Bin Laden for electioneering purposes, so is Obama.
Capturing the Al Qaida leader alive would have proved to be Obama's Sword of Damocles. In the same way the hideous Guantanamo Bay has become.
The Americans and the West are currently writing the narratives.
The plain truth is, as despicable as 9/11's act of terror attributed to the mysterious Al Qaida was; similar atrocities are carried out on a daily basis by the Americans in countries like Afghanistan and Iraq and with US assistance in countries like Palestine and even, until recently, in Libya and Egypt.
Introspection into what causes terror campaigns must be carried out and such debate reflected on the networks.
Little is being done to cover the pain, anguish and the rise of radical religious notions among families of victims of atrocities of 9/11, Afghanistan, Iraq and Palestine.
One hopes the 24 hour news channels can become more critical of news that lands on their laps rather than turning us into His Master's Sheep. But let's not hold our collective breath for these channles to challemge our thinking when they can much easily tell us what to think.
Caption: Internet depictions of a kindly Osama, left, and a boozy Obama, right. In the age of creative writing and hard news it's becoming increasingly difficult for the public to separate fact from fiction.
NEWSFLASH: Gateway's Adega robbed
POLICE have reason to believe a pair of men who lunched at popular Adega restaurant at Gateway, Umhlanga, in KZN on Friday could help them with their robbery investigations.
It is believed a pair of men held up staff cashing up at the establishment late Friday night.
The manager, who goes by the name of Shiraaz, was injured in an altercation with the assailants.
He received two gunshot wounds. One in the arm, and the other elsewhere on his person resulting in organ damage.
Bystanders alleged some security guards at Gateway ran away in fear after hearing gunshots but this could not be corroborated at time of going to press.
BOOKS
POLICE have reason to believe a pair of men who lunched at popular Adega restaurant at Gateway, Umhlanga, in KZN on Friday could help them with their robbery investigations.
It is believed a pair of men held up staff cashing up at the establishment late Friday night.
The manager, who goes by the name of Shiraaz, was injured in an altercation with the assailants.
He received two gunshot wounds. One in the arm, and the other elsewhere on his person resulting in organ damage.
Bystanders alleged some security guards at Gateway ran away in fear after hearing gunshots but this could not be corroborated at time of going to press.
BOOKS
by Sihle Marcus Mthembu
OVER past ten years he has become one of the most interesting writers to emerge out of the Durban literary scene. His debut book entitled The Lotus People was already winning awards before it was even published. Most notably the Sanlam award for an unpublished novel in 2001. Already in his seventies, the retired accountant admits there are only few things in life that worry him. Chief of which is his inability to stop smoking.
“I don’t what it is,” he says “but I just can’t seem to kick the habit of smoking.”
One might be surprised as to why a literary figure like Aziz Hassim at the height of his powers might worry about such things. Particularly because he has been known to ruffle a few feathers.
Hassim has been over the years a heavy critic of the bigotry within the Indian community.
“I’m worried about the lack of tolerance within the Indian community and South Africa as a whole,” says Hasssim.
“If a person of your own colour bumps you, you apologise, but if someone else bumps you people start fighting,” he adds.
It's opinions like these that have made Hassim one of the most revered writers in recent history. Born and raised in Durban’s Casbah area, Hassim cites his upbringing as one of the most influential periods in his life.
“Where we lived, we were mixed,” he says.
“And I think that had a profound impact on how I view people and life”.
Although many of the people he grew up with were later uprooted from the area and he never saw them again. Hassim sees his writing as his way of honouring and remembering those people.
“Writing is my personal TRC...it’s the only way that I can record the untold history of the Casbah”.
Whilst telling this history he has found that many young people know very little about the Casbah and Grey Street (now Yusuf Dadoo) areas and the impact they had on South Africa’s fight for democracy.
“Many of the young people I meet on book tours and universities do not know about the history of areas like Grey Street or Yusuf Dadoo or Fatima Meer,“ he says “and it worries me that these stories will eventually disappear”.
Hassim has also however placed a chunk of the blame on the inability of government to foster the literary and storytelling talent of the country.
“I met a French writer a few years ago, who told me that the French government was giving grants to writers. You can imagine my surprise because we do not have that here,” he says.
Hassim has also expressed his dissatisfaction at how governments still select foreign books as recommended material for reading in schools.
“It's fine to have a mixture,” he says “but I was disappointed that my book (The Lotus People) was not prescribed as part of school reading, because it tells the story of an essential part of our history”.
Although a heavy critic himself Hassim has not gone without criticism of his work.
His second novel The Revenge of Kali was lambasted by some as an attack on the Hindu religion.
“I don’t know what the fuss was about. Yes Kali is a Hindu god but I do not speak badly about the Hindu community in my book,” he says.
“Rather I write about what I know and what I see.”
Hassim admits that although his stories are personal, there are many that happened to other people. Having grown up in the Casbah and having quit school at standard eight to work in the streets, Hassim says that his experiences have found their way into the pages he writes.
“I worked in many places and you meet a lot of people and see a lot of things. I try and recall that history and bring it to life as a narrative.”
Hassim’s experiences have not however come without their drawbacks. As he worked as a young man he became more and more disillusioned about the moral standpoint of the Indian business community.
“They are exploitative bastards,” he says, “the whole lot of them. Many Indian families have become bigshots and rich at the expense of other hard working people and I hate that about them.”
Hassim’s soon-to-be released book deals in detail on the subject.
by Simnikiwe Hlatshaneni
THEY'RE hot on the heels of several hip-hop sensations to come out of Durban's underground movement!
cRoWnEd, a group of young boys are promising to blow up the airwaves with their debut mixtape, 'Tha Hit Tape' this June.
They have already built up a hype on a number of radion stations including Ukhozi fm and Vibe fm with their song Should I Rock. The track has catapulted da boyz to critical acclaim on the local scene. Dkay(18), T.D.F(18), xO(18), YungCrisis(16) and zEtkAy(18) started their group in church in 2010 as a way of their expressng their shared love for music.
"The support we have received from our community has pushed us to want to make this thang go bigger than just Durban," says vocalist, zEtkAy.
"As young as we are, we have what it takes to make it big. And we will."
These youngsters, most of them fresh out of high school have written and recorded over 30 tracks to select for their mixtape under B5 productions.
Having worked with such artists as ProFlow and Princeton. B5 have a
reputation for spotting and growing real talent.
'Tha Hit Tape' will hit the streets in June 18, by which time cRoWnEd will have completed a tour of Durban, Johanesburg and Mozambique with their EP. Dkay, one of the rappers proclaims, "We are all in this for the long haul. Whatever it takes, cRoWnEd will be the name that changed the game in SA."
* Catch more on the outfit on: http://reverbnation.com/crowned5
REVIEW: Fairly Legal
CHANNEL: Universal Channel
PLATFORM: DStv 108
SCREENINGS: Tuesdays and Sundays
Sara Shahi could move on to Hollywood A-lister one of these days.
The Fairly Legal protagonist certainly has the sex appeal if her glam pics in Maxim and Heat SA and FHM SA are anything to go by.
And the acting talent too.
After stints on The L Word and Law and Order, Shahi has her own show where she plays Kate Reed, a litigator turned mediator.
The first episode kicks off with a scene featuring Reed buying cofee. Or attempting to.
A shop holdup by a gunwielding miscreant gets her superpowers of persuasion steaming ahead.
Result: the gunman gets his goods. The shopkeeper gets to keep his body bullet-unriddled. And they all live happily ever after? No. Reed still gets to pay for her coffee.
The show holds great promise. It's no Ally McBeal with its quirky writing from lawyer turned scriptwriter Boston legal's David E. Kelley.
But it's soft and beautiful, dazzling at points and grows on you.
Thanks largely to Shahi's abiity to pull it off.
There's Baron Vaughan her sidekick who is always saving her ass. And then there's a recently widowed looker of a stepmum who takes over Reed's dad's legal firm in the face of Reed's insolence.
Reed too is recently single but spends a bit of time with her old hubby. She doesn't spend time in court as there's no space to debate when it's time for Kate to mediate.
Reed is played by Shahi, the great-great dgrandaughter of the Shah of Persia (now Iraq) from her dad's side and a Spanish mum.
* Catch Fairly Legal on DStv channel 108 on Tuesday nights at 8pm with repeats on Sunday's at 1.30pm and 11.20pm.
ONE should put their underwear out to dry...it could be profitable.
That is the message a plaintiff found out in Judge Kevin Ross's America's Court playing Thursday night before 7pm on Top TV.
The case of panties that refused to vibrate was put in front of Judge Ross.
The airing was hours before the watershed time of 10pm after which Icasa rules adult content could be screened on televison (irony is this is when parents go to bed and kids come out to play). But with the age of sexual content without filters all over the channels, I don't think the show would have elicited much complaints.
Story goes: a regular customer of adult-themed get-up got to sue her seller for underwear that failed to vibrate at a costumed party.
The defendant though claimed the plaintiff had stupidly worn the undies over clothing causing a fault in the mechanism.
The judge deemed the defendant to be lacking in business savvy as she had now lost a longterm customer over stubborn behaviour. He ruled against her.
Moral of the story: always do a dry run upon purchase.
CAPTION: Judge Kevin Ross, centre, with plaintiff, left, and defendant.
RUNNING TIME: 110 min
ACTORS: Russel Brand, Helen Mirren, Jennifer Garner, Greta Gerwig
DIRECTOR: Jason Winer
STAR RATING: ***
ARTHUR was in danger of losing it's grip on audience attention somewhere just after the middle with patchy, inconsequential scenes. Stuff one should find on the cutting room floor.
Were it not for the clever banter of an obviously improvisational Russel Brand as megarich Arthur and the fine-tuned comic timing of one Dame Helen Mirren as his nanny Hobson this piece of otherwise great cinema could have ended up in the proverbial pooh - as much of such Hollywood drivel does.
Overall what a charming, workable idea.
Brand plays the rich boy brat Arthur forced into an arranged marriage with a demanding Jennifer Garner character of Susan by his mum Vivienne (Geraldine James) for business reasons.
And to help him come of age.
Trouble is such notions of manhood and maturity are as far from his mind as is monogamy.
Until he meets Naomi (Greta Gerwig); the love of his life. She is as spontaneous and grounded in fairytales as he is.
Splendid performances from Mirren as Arthur's surrogate mum, his nanny from childhood, who must find a replacement before she moves on.
Central to the farce is Arthur's magnetic bed suspended in the air. The scene with the round bed hooking up Susan to its underside while the real love of his life Naomi is in the next room with popcorn is a scene stealer.
Overall, I'd catch this for its comic value.
Brand is such a delight to watch.
His comedy is irreverently British and well he can act well. Even if hammish at times. He gets away with it 'cos it's a role more suited to his fun, flamboyant, standup comic personality type.
This is one helluva film to keep you in stitches.
If you pardon the lull and the plod in its script you'll find the story eventually hurtles the narrative forward to it's inevitable conclusion.
HE'S on a mission to Boo-tify South Africa in the merry month of May. Kidsco Channel's Boo and Me! orangutan Boo drifted into Cape Town's Cheese Festival in Stellenbosch to give the young ones something to chew on.
A hit with the adults too, the orphan's message was simple: re-use and recycle.
Boo also played ball on green issues at the rugby at Newlands, Cape Town, yesterday (Saturday, May 7).
Boo was with Cape handler Tanya who spoke to kids and kool adults on Boo's mission.
Boo makes an appearance at Buccleuch Primary in Sandton this Friday morning.
He will check on the school's tree planting programme and if the young ones are watering a plant he gave to them.
Boo will also judge a colouring-in competition and tips for a green day (not to be confused with the pop band) for grade threes at the school.
Teacher Ms Bapela prepped the grades for Boo's exciting visit.
* Boo makes an appearance daily in the lives of mainly 6-10-year-olds on kidsco channel on top tv on channel 288 and DStv channel 308. The times are weekdays at 7.40am with a repeat at 3.30pm.
CAPTION: Boo and Me! featuring Yasmine, left, and Aiman
Dear Noah,
We could have sworn you said the ark wasn't leaving till 5.
Sincerely, Unicorns
Dear Icebergs,
Sorry to hear about the global warming. Karma's a beyatch.
Sincerely, The Titanic
Dear J.K. Rowling,
Your books are entirely unrealistic. I mean, a ginger kid with two
friends?
Sincerely, Anonymous
Dear Yahoo,
I've never heard anyone say, "I don't know, let's Yahoo! it..." just
saying...
Sincerely, Google
Dear girls who have been dumped,
There are plenty of fish in the sea... Just kidding! They're all dead.
Sincerely, BP
Dear 2010,
So I hear the best rapper is white and the president is black? WTF
happened?!
Sincerely, 1985
Dear Rose,
There was definitely room on that raft for the both of us.
Sincerely, Jack
Dear Windshield Wipers,
Can't touch this.
Sincerely, That Little Triangle
Dear Rubik's Cube,
Done!
Sincerely, Colorblind
Dear Martin Luther King Jr.,
I have a dream within a dream within a dream within another dream...
What now?
Sincerely, Leonardo DiCaprio
Dear Romeo,
My death isn't the only thing I've been faking...
Sincerely, Juliet
We could have sworn you said the ark wasn't leaving till 5.
Sincerely, Unicorns
Dear Icebergs,
Sorry to hear about the global warming. Karma's a beyatch.
Sincerely, The Titanic
Dear J.K. Rowling,
Your books are entirely unrealistic. I mean, a ginger kid with two
friends?
Sincerely, Anonymous
Dear Yahoo,
I've never heard anyone say, "I don't know, let's Yahoo! it..." just
saying...
Sincerely, Google
Dear girls who have been dumped,
There are plenty of fish in the sea... Just kidding! They're all dead.
Sincerely, BP
Dear 2010,
So I hear the best rapper is white and the president is black? WTF
happened?!
Sincerely, 1985
Dear Rose,
There was definitely room on that raft for the both of us.
Sincerely, Jack
Dear Windshield Wipers,
Can't touch this.
Sincerely, That Little Triangle
Dear Rubik's Cube,
Done!
Sincerely, Colorblind
Dear Martin Luther King Jr.,
I have a dream within a dream within a dream within another dream...
What now?
Sincerely, Leonardo DiCaprio
Dear Romeo,
My death isn't the only thing I've been faking...
Sincerely, Juliet
*** write to SAonSunday@gmail.com
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