Thanks to a Muti post I stumbled across a Etienne Du Plessis' Flickr photostream. There are some amazing photo's and scanned postcards portraying a Cape Town long past, for better or worse.

Below is a postcard of the Cape Town 'International' from 1966.



How about Muizenberg in 1964?



Check out the full set here : Bygone Cape Town, South Africa

Labels: bygone era, cape town, history, memories, photographs

Posted by roygbiv at 7:50 PM | Permalink | Comments

The phone rings and the lady of the house answers, "Hello."
"Mrs. Smith, please."
"Speaking."
"Mrs. Smith, this is Doctor Jones at the Medical Testing Laboratory. When your doctor sent your husband's biopsy to the lab yesterday, a biopsy from another Mr. Smith arrived as well, and we are now uncertain which one is your husband's. Frankly the results are either bad or terrible."
"What do you mean?" Mrs. Smith asks nervously.
"Well, one of the specimens tested positive for Alzheimer's and the other one tested positive for AIDS. We can't tell which one is your husband's."
"That's dreadful! Can't you do the test again?" questioned Mrs. Smith.
"Normally we can, but your Medical Aid will only pay for these expensive Tests one time."
"Well, what am I supposed to do now?"
"The people at the Medical Aid recommend that you drop your husband off somewhere in the middle of town. If he finds his way home, don't sleep with him!"

Labels: fun, joke, medical aid

Posted by roygbiv at 2:06 PM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: margie orford, xenophobia

Posted by eishman at 8:34 AM | Permalink | Comments

I promised some readers something a little harder this week ...
Rising from the ashes of SA band Tweak in 2006 Crash Car Burn have become arguably SA's premier punk rock band.
They have paid their dues in Europe and continue to do so on the local festival scene, and continue to build a larger and larger following as well creating an awareness in the overseas markets via mainstream media avenues like MTVU's The Freshmen. You get the feeling that they are building towards a break through track that is going to see them hit the big time. However, in my humble opinion they haven't found yet. What I have heard from them is awesome but perhaps a little generic for the genre they find themselves. They need to find something within themselves that distinguishes them from the pack, not just locally, but globally.

Having said all that, they have continued to grow and become a tighter unit and their melodies more complex, and it is only a matter of time before that killer track blasts them into the stratosphere. There offerings rock, and can compete with the best the world has to offer.

No guys, work on http://www.crashcarburn.com/

Myspace link : www.myspace.com/crashcarburn

Labels: crasg car burn, friday music spotlight, music video, sa music, tweak

Posted by eishman at 8:27 AM | Permalink | Comments

While a Wiki page is great for collaborative efforts, sometimes there can be a downfall.

Like tonight, when a user, seemingly in error, managed to delete the Cape Town 27Dinner page when adding here name to the list of attendees.

I hope Dave and the boys can get hit an UNDO key somewhere ... I was too scared to touch anything.

Labels: 27dinner, accelerate Cape Town, eish, wiki

Posted by roygbiv at 11:50 PM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: britain, current tv, freedom, human rights, united kingdom, video

Posted by eishman at 1:20 PM | Permalink | Comments

On the 25th April this year on the Friday SA Music Spotlight I posted a piece on Verity. She is funding her cd release by involving those who pre-purchase her yet to be released album in the creation of it.
Since then she has reached the all-important 2000 pre-sales mark. This means she can fund the printing and posting of the album for those who have bought into the project.
As things have turned out, her concert this Sunday at the Silvertree Restaurant in Kirstenbosch will become a celebratory event.

With Nelson Malela on keyboards, Helder Gonzaga on bass and Frank Paco on drums she assures us it will be "high energy music filled evening" showcasing all the songs off the album!

If you would like to be there, please call 021 762 9585 asap to book a table. Tickets cost R100 & include a welcome drink & soup.

Labels: entertainment, future owners, kirstenbosch, music, sa music, silvertree restaurant, verity

Posted by roygbiv at 1:03 PM | Permalink | Comments

Every so often you hear, often via a long grapevine of some scary vulnerability that has been found in some piece of software. You panic, but then you hear you only have to worry if you are using version 3.4.33.2.8.a release 7b.....
So what version do you have and if you have version 3.4.33.2.8.a release 7c, do you still have to worry?
The solution to this, and more importantly to ensure you stay ahead of the grapevine, is to install Secunia Personal Software Inspector. This clever piece of free software scans your installed programmes and checks them against what Secunia has in its database as known issues. Secunia collects, evaluates, verifies, and analyses security information from public mailing lists, security and vendor websites, coordinated vulnerability reports, and internal research and gives it to us on a silver platter. No worries. And for free.
This is a great addition to the tools you should have in your arsenal to keep you protected for the baddies. You should already be behind a router, have a firewall, have an updated anti-virus installed and have some anti-spyware utility, and now the perfect weapon for a pre-emptive strike.

Link : psi.secunia.com

Labels: free software, secunia personal software inspector, software, version control, vulnerabilities

Posted by eishman at 11:21 PM | Permalink | Comments

Thanks to a link sent to 'The Podfather' Adam Curry by Derek 'The Bandit' Richardson, the South African anti-foreigner rampage has entered the consciousness of the worldwide independent media movement.
Take a listen as Adam responds to the news and pictures featured at The Times' website. (and, no Derek has not left the country)



Catch the full podcast here
The slideshow referenced : Flames of hate

Labels: adam curry, dailysourcecode, derek richardson, south africa, thetimes.co.za, xenophobia

Posted by eishman at 7:51 PM | Permalink | Comments

Jax Panic is, Jacobus Johannes van Heerden, is an oke from Bellville, Cape Town.

He has been billed as SA's first online musician, releasing his music in the online space only. Reading several write-ups and his own biography there has been a stream of thought that his music is somewhat emo-ish. I don't get that,
"A sexy mix of pop, rock, and electro, with catchy hooks", Yes. In fact there is a whole load eighties pop group 'Yes' stuck deep down is his sound. It's a great blast from the past for those who remember the late eighties mix of artists.
For someone who bought some cheap software and started recording and programming his own tracks the sound is rich and just complex enough for the discerning listener to keep listening long enough to appreciate the mix and lyrics but still poppy and catchy enough to be appreciated by the masses. Kind of like a thinking man's Mika!

Click here for to download his track 'Cigarettes and Cinnamon' from 24.com

Links :

• 
  
• MySpace
• Facebook
• RhythmOnline
  Music Store (Purchase tracks for R7.00 a track)
  

Labels: download video, friday music spotlight, jax panic, mp3, music, sa music

Posted by eishman at 8:40 AM | Permalink | Comments

Here's a little online gem for those of you stuck with SABC programming.
The SABC press tool is a great online back door to check the latest TV schedules for their various TV channels including SABC Africa.
I find the SABC's various channel websites are not user friendly and are often out of date, so utilise this sight on the odd occasion. It's simple,quick and ,being a press tool, as accurate as you are going to get.

Link : SABC Press Tool

Labels: online tv, press tool, programme, sabc, schedule, television

Posted by eishman at 8:02 PM | Permalink | Comments

I went check to out the highly rated new Nokia N96. (It's a beaut by the way). Clicking over to http://www.nseries.com/ I was greeting with a little pop-up box, asking if I was willing to spend a few minutes filling in a little questionnaire. Being the obliging fellow I am, I agreed.
Page one asked me for my sex and age. Page two for my country or region I currently reside.
Now I know South Africa may not be Nokia's biggest market, but I would think that we rank a little higher than, let's say Solomon Islands?

... needless to say I did not continue. (Still want to get my hands on a N96 though)

Labels: N96, nokia, questionnaire, south africa

Posted by eishman at 2:07 PM | Permalink | Comments

See Albert?

Now take 3 steps back from your screen ...

Labels: humour

Posted by roygbiv at 7:32 PM | Permalink | Comments

(I couldn't resist)

A man who just died is delivered to a local mortuary wearing an expensive, expertly tailored black suit.

The female blonde mortician asks the deceased's wife how she would like the body dressed. She points out that the man does look good in the black suit he is already wearing.

The widow, however, says that she always thought her husband looked his best in blue, and that she wants him in a blue suit. She gives the Blonde mortician a blank check and s ays, 'I don't care what it costs, but please have my husband in a blue suit for the viewing.'

The woman returns the next day for the wake. To her delight, she finds her husband dressed in a gorgeous blue suit with a subtle chalk stripe; the suit fits him perfectly.

She says to the mortician, 'Whatever this cost, I'm very satisfied. You did an excellent job and I' m very grateful. How much did you spend?' To her astonishment, the blonde mortician presents her with the blank check.

'There's no charge,' she says.

'No, really, I must compensate you for the cost of that exquisite blue suit!' she says.

'Honestly, ma'am,' the blonde says, 'it cost nothing. You see, a deceased gentleman of about your husband's size was brought in shortly after you left yesterday, and he was wearing an attractive blue suit. I asked his wife if she minded him going to his grave wearing a black suit instead, and she said it made no difference as long as he looked nice.'

'So I just switched the heads.'

Labels: blonde, humour

Posted by roygbiv at 2:06 PM | Permalink | Comments

I am going to cheat and repeat a South African artist already highlighted on the Eish!! Friday SA music spotlight; The Parlatones.
The reason is simple. They were the featured band on BBC Bristol's Morning Glory. The show was aired last Saturday and is currently available to listen online until this Saturday.So you do not have too long left to catch it, if you are interested. The boys did an in-studio set and an interview with Andy Howard.

The show is available on the BBC iPlayer until Saturday 10th May - http://www.bbc.co.uk/bristol/ - click on "Listen Again", look for Morning Glory with Andy Howard..

I also really enjoy their video "I'll be there", so thought I would share it with you. This adds to their an awesome collection music videos that tell the story of the songs in a clever, quirky and visually flawless way.

Labels: american music awards, bbc bristol, friday music spotlight, interview, sa music, the parlotones

Posted by eishman at 8:16 AM | Permalink | Comments

Blackle.com is a search page powered by Google. The concept is simple, a monitor displaying black uses less energy than one displaying white.

"Image displayed is primarily a function of the user's color settings and desktop graphics, as well as the color and size of open application windows; a given monitor requires more power to display a white (or light) screen than a black (or dark) screen." Roberson et al, 2002

The savings are tiny, but many tiny savings can make a big difference. In fact it is theorised, using total page views and the fact that a white page uses about 74 watts to display while a black page uses just 59 watts that the savings could reach 750 mega-watt hours a year.
Another important spin off is each time an individual uses the search page they are reminded of the importance of saving energy.

Why not do your little bit?

Labels: blackle, energy, fuel saving, google, search, search engine optimization, the internet

Posted by eishman at 8:31 AM | Permalink | Comments

Just a day after SABC's chief executive Dali Mpofu announced the suspension of group executive of news and current affairs Snuki Zikalala, he finds himself suspended.
While no mention was made of any link between the two suspensions, it is pretty obvious that there is one.
Yesterday, while refusing to divulge any details of the Zikalala suspension, Mpofu claimed "This is a matter that has to do with information that we received about sensitive documents of the organisation" but denied reports that the suspension had anything to do with the leaking of alleged differences between himself and the SABC board "It is actually unrelated to the media speculation around this issue. So timing in that sense was quite strangely unfortunate."
Snuki Zikalala was instrumental in and highly criticized for the creation of the SABC News' blacklist of political analysts critical of President Thabo Mbeki and his suspension was lauded by many.
My initial reaction to the Mpofu suspension was that this is the ANC laced SABC board taking action against someone threatening their important, strategically placed ANC apologist. After all Inside Politics wrote earlier today of the SABC board "board chairperson Eddie Funde has a list of ANC credentials that run from managing the placement, education and training of the hundreds of young ANC exiles during the 1970s to serving on the ANC’s NEC as recently as 2002. Another board member, Solly Mokoetle, ran Radio Freedom for the ANC in exile and Christine Qunta, when she’s not attacking the DA, is taking out full page adverts in various newspapers that do everything from criticise the media for not supporting the President enough to simply wishing him happy birthday. "
However you can add Mpofu himself to that list as he served the ANC as deputy head of its Social Welfare Department.
So is the nation, once again being dragged through the mud, embarrassingly, as the repercussions of the Polokwane power struggle continue to be played out in all institutions in which the ANC has, or wants control?

It seems as if this is going to get dirty!

Labels: anc, dali mpofu, sabc, snukie zikalala

Posted by eishman at 7:43 AM | Permalink | Comments

Years after the Columbia disaster scientists have managed to glean useful information from a Seagate 400mb hard drive. The was onboard to records the results of an experiment to study the way xenon gas flows in microgravity.
While the reconstructing the debris the engineers found the hard drive and remarkably managed to retrieve 99 % of the data held on the drive.

Pretty impressive, I can picture the advert ... coming soon to a PC mag near you!

Labels: columbia, hard drive, seagate, shuttle, technology

Posted by eishman at 1:03 PM | Permalink | Comments

It's a day early, but hey, it's the weekend.
I know very little about this week's artist. Pat The Dog is the creative oulet of Ray Goodfellow, a singer/songriter from Durban in South Africa. All Songs have been recorded at his home studio. He has managed to get played on a few podcasts around the world since he joined the Mevio (formerly Podshow). I enjoyed the simple guitar driven medleys.
It will be nice to hear more from Ray AKA Ray.

Links

• Myspace
• Mevio
  

Labels: friday music spotlight, music, pat the dog, ray goodfellow, sa music

Posted by eishman at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments