SPEED KILLS!!!!

This is not local but maybe people will slow down after seeing
this.

There are several things I detest that people do when they get behind the wheel of vehicle. They are (in no particular order) : using a mobile/cellphone whilst driving (and not using a hands-free kit); drinking and driving; and speeding. In the past two weeks three local South African celebreties were caught and arrested for speeding......and two in one night! Talk about "killing two birds with one stone"........ Julius Malema was arrested on a Thursday evening somewhere near Jhburg for driving 215 km/h in a 120 km/h zone. It was reported that the vehicle he was driving was not his. He was granted R5,000 bail. Later the same evening in Bronkhorstspruit, Steve Hofmeyer (Afrikaans singer) was arrested for driving 169 km/h in an 80km/h zone. He only got R500 bail (I wonder why). And then on Sunday, singer Donald Moatshe was arrested outside Ballito on the KZN North Coast for driving 182 km/h in a 120km/h zone. Donald got R2,500 bail. Strangely the journalist reporting about Donald gives a description of the car he was a driving........ a silver Audi Q3. What were Steve and Julius driving at the time? Malema's car must have had a powerful engine to travel at 215km/h in a 120 km/h zone. And the bail they each recieved? How come Hofmeyer only got R500 bail? Travelling over the speed limit is a very serious crime to me. What happens if you kill your passengers? Or worse yet.........hit an innocent pedestrian? The courts are far too lenient with bail. Driver's licences should be revoked as rules of the road have been broken. Driver's arrested should end up doing hard labour or community service. How about a month in jail? That should cure. Below are the lyrics to a song "Speed Kills" by 70's rock band Ten Years After. It's about someone who speeds to the level crossing to get there before the train. Sadly he doesn't make it.......

Get on the ball boys
Let' catch that train and get on

Run your Chevy down the highway, doing 95
Got his V-8 engine buzzing like a hive
Gotta catch that mail train, just to stay alive

Well, he wrote his baby a letter when he was in pain
Well, he told his little baby, "Don't wanna see you again"
Well, he's gotta drop that letter, gotta catch that train

Gotta beat it to the crossing before he gets to town
Got to keep that whistle humming, keep it to the ground
Gotta catch that mail train, gotta flag it down, roll on boy

Well, he's squealing around the bend, tracks are getting near
Well, the roaring of the engine, passing in his ear
Hurry, he ain't gonna make it

THE SHOW MUST GO ON............

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela
1918 - 2013

Before I pay my respects to one of the greatest icons, Nelson Mandela, many people are wondering why rhe blog title "The Show Must Go On". Dear readers and fellow bloggers since the 6th December 2013, South Africa has appeared to come to a standstill after President Zuma announced a 10 day mourning period for the passing of Nelson Mandela. When I say a standstill I mean issues like the releasing of the Nkandla Report have all been delayed during this period. Is this a trick so that the goverment hope that opposition parties will forget about these scandals? And the SABC is also going to lose revenue as they churn out programme after programe for days on end honouring Mandela, until they start repeating the repeats. By now people are wanting their channels back to normal. Why didn't the SABC do as DSTV is doing and create a special channel to show all the "Madiba" programmes? Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge Nelson Mandela fan and was sad to hear that he had passed on, but the man was 95 years old and some of us may never reach that age. I'm sure that Madiba would have preferred a simple funeral service, over a couple of days and not 10 days as the ANC have done. In the words of the rock group, Queen.......who by the way did a lot for Mandela's various charities, he would have said "The show must go on........"
     Today South Africa will once again come to a standstill at 11am (SA time) as visiting heads of state, celebreties and other dignitaries converge on the FNB stadium in Soweto to attend a memorial service in honour of this great man. His funeral service will only take place on Sunday (15th December, 2013) in his hometown of Qunu in the Eastern Cape. Sadly by then Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela's long walk to freedom will finally have come to an end. #RIPMadiba

QUEEN OF CAKES - SOUTH AFRICA'S NEXT GREAT BAKER?

Just about everybody can bake that cake for the church fete or the family birthdays that come up during the year. If you are one of those people, then this would intrest you. My niece has always been artistic and can draw and she does photography as well. Her talents do not stop there either, as she sings and plays the guitar. Recently she started taking an intrest in baking cakes and taking orders for birthdays and weddings. I decided to ask her how it all began:
ME:  When did you realize that baking and decorating cakes were something you were good at?
MELANIE: This is a newly discovered talent of mine, probably about 2012 December.
ME:  Apart from this newfound talent you have, what other artistic things have you tried before and are good at?
MELANIE:  Painting, murals, chalkboard drawings, singing, writing, etching........anything art related really..
ME:  Have you had any previous training in baking and decorating cakes?
MELANIE:  I have a friend who bakes for a living, who was nice enough to show me the ropes.
ME:  Judging by the pictures of your cakes, you have a natural flair for art. Are you planning to do this full time?
MELANIE:    Yes, I would love to do this full time, and also do some murals and chalkboard drawings on the side.
ME:  How long does one cake take to complete?
MELANIE:  Well it depends a lot on the size and the detail of the cake as some cakes take me an entire day.
ME:  You remind me of TV's "Cake Boss" on the TLC channel where no cake is too difficult. Your customers must have difficult requests. What was the most challenging cake you have made?
MELANIE: I think so far the most challenging has been a white wedding cake, because it is such a big event, and the cake itself was very simple looking, so there was no room for imperfections.
ME:  How can people contact you?
MELANIE:  They can contact me on queenofcakessa@hotmail.com , send me a picture of what they want, what flavour, how many people the cake is for and the date of the event. I can then send back a quote.

You can also visit her Facebook page Queen of Cakes and see pictures of some of her cakes she's created.

THE TALENT SHOW ENDORSED BY SIMON COWELL IS BACK!

Johnny Apple

It's that time of the year again, when singers, dancers and others try out for the R250,000 grand prize on a new season of SA's Got Talent. Will South Africa get it right this year and vote for someone who can sing or dance? Or will another wannabe poetry reader reap the rewards like last year? I am most surprised that during Thursday night's opening episode of the Joburg auditions I didn't see any tweets or comments about contestants on social networks, apart from one if the judges, Shado Twala, who seemed pleased that the Brass Band had got enough "yes's" to go through to the next round. But when I messaged TVplus on Facebook they informed me that they had network problems, but will be commenting and tweeting next week. So were there any highlights from that first episode featuring the Jhburg auditions? Yes, there were. Four acts stood out from the rest. The Bambanami Brass Band impressed the judges with their unusual performance, which combined a form of dancing whilst playing musical instruments. Children, don't try this at home! Two young girls who called themselves, Lyrical Swag, entertained the audience and the judges with their rapping/singing skills. Then there was the young blind girl who sang a Zahara song and accompanied herself on the guitar. I didn't quite catch her name but I thought she was very good. The episode concluded with the performance of the young Johnny Apple as he sang an Adele song "One and Only". He wowed the audience and got a standing ovation, and even caused Ian to pronounce "You were fan-tas-tic!". If these acts are examples of what is to come.......we are in for a very good Season 4! I wonder what next week will bring.

PUT ON YOUR DANCING SHOES

After this weekend, everyone will be blogging and reviewing all the events of the weekend. From all the pre-parties to the after parties of the Durban July to the actual event itself. I on the other hand have decided to blog about an upcoming reality TV show that will be aired on Wednesday, 10th July. Yes it's back! Another season of the popular "Strictly Come Dancing" returns where local SA celebs are partnered with professional ballroom and latin-American dancers in a quest to be the last couple "dancing" so to speak. This show is a spin-off from the BBC version, and like every other BBC show it finds it's way to America too. You've all heard of  "Dancing With The Stars"? With "Strictly Come Dancing" season 6 due to air on Wednesday, it's moved from SABC 2 to SABC 3 and even has a brand new panel of professional judges. And I'm sure you are all dying to know who the local celebs are that will be put through their paces by their professional dance partners? Without further ado, we have: Expresso presenter Graeme Richards, comedian Mpho Popps, 5fm breakfast radio producer Damon Kalvari, Durban based musician L’vovo and popular actor Thapelo Mokoena. TV presenters Lalla Hirayama and Kuli Roberts, and popular actresses Connie Ferguson, Zakeeya Patel (High Rollers) and Jay Anstey (Isidingo). Their partners are also well known to viewers and fans of the series, and are all eying out the Season 6 trophy. So set your alarm clocks, PVR decoders and the likes. This is reality TV at it's best, straight into your living room. I missed being an armchair judge!

DURBAN GAY PRIDE 2013

Last year  Durban Pride was held at Kings Park with a parade. This year the venue was the Ampitheatre on the North Beach opposite the Elangeni Hotel. Members of the LBGTI community were not happy though as there was no parade. But as Lucky from the Gay Centre explained to me that because the Top Gear Festival was held two weeks earlier, it was logistically impossible to plan and include a parade in this year's Pride event. However next year Pride will move to the month of August and a Pride march/parade will be part of the programme. That being said, let's take a look at this year's Durban Pride Festival. As member of the DA (Democratic Alliance) we set up an info table in the middle, surrounded by tables of various other gay/gay-friendly organizations. And before you as a South African ask why was the DA there........ the ANC also came to set up an info table as well. The DA has a lot of openly gay members, MP's and city councillers country wide, so why should we not be be supporting this event? Just for the record, my city counciller is gay, and I'm gay. So what?  As far as attendance figures go, it would appear from my photos that not many people turned up. It seemed that people only started turning up at around 3pm, which was when I was trying to get a cab to go home. I had been there since 10am. Around 4pm all the Jhburg and local and Jhburg drag performers started to arrive. And where was my camera? Packed away already! Remember I was trying to get a cab to go home!  But hats off to the organizers and the Durban Gay & Lesbian Centre, you certainly did a great job. Hopefully it will even be better next year in August when there will be a parade. So start organizing your costume, and go shopping for your wigs etc as 2014 is just around the corner!

Yours truly at Durban Pride 2013.

A DATE WITH IKO MASH



Iko Mash



Who is Iko Mash? I had the pleasure of doing a blog interview with the talented and gorgeous personality. "And what is a blog interview?" I hear you say. Well I sent her a list of questions via e-mail asking her all sorts of things, like her childhood, her dreams, her many talents and of course her current acting role in the Dstv drama "Zabalaza". Below are her replies to my questions.
ME: Where were you born and bred?
IKO: I was born Billy Mothola Emmanuel  Mashiloane, I was born in meadowlands zone 1 in Soweto.

ME:  At what age did you realize you were different from other boys?
IKO: I realized I was different at the age of 7 or 8 because all I loved doing was wearing my Mom's stilettos whilst cleaning the house, and never playing on the street corner like other kids.

ME: Were you naughty as a child?

IKO: I was a very quiet child, and very obedient as a result of the child abuse I recieved at the very tender age of 6 years old.

ME: What made you decide to "dress" as a female full time?

IKO: My mother's cousins were the most beautiful women I had ever seen and that inspired me to be like them.

ME: I know this is a strange question, but what gender are you classified as nowadays?

IKO: I invented the word "shim" and that's how I got to be known, to stop the confusion.
ME:  Are you an only child or do you have siblings?
IKO: My mom has 5 kids and I am the middle child.
ME: When was your biggest break?
IKO: My biggest break was in 2000 when I was in the international commercial with Nelson Mandela for trade and tourism. I was also the face of Sunlight Dishwasher as the black Marilyn Monroe.
ME: What prompted your intrest in the entertainment industry?
IKO: A friend of mine who is an actress had "forced" me to join her agency when she had taken her child for pictures. I started getting called for auditions and realized there and then that this is what I want to do.
ME: Where do you see yourself in 3 to 5 years time?
IKO: I see myself running my own production house, an ad agency, and my own lifestyle show.
ME:  Rumour has it that you will be joining the cast of the local soapie "Zabalaza". Can you tell me more?
IKO: I have been with Zabalaza since episode one but my character's storyline has only started growing a few months after I started. As we know that when you are gay you have to prove yourself over and over again.
ME: Is this the first time you have done any acting?
IKO: I have done acting for many years. I have acted in Gazlam 2, Tshesa 1, Streetlife Movie, and Backstage.
ME: How do you handle/deal with fame, money and of course men?
IKO: I am spiritually very grounded and money is still on the cards. I am never faced by the presence of a man, as I am more focussed on productivity.
ME: After Zabalaza, do you have any future projects you would like to share with me?
IKO: Besides Zabalaza I have a new reality show that is coming to your screens soon. It's an extreme make-over show.
ME: With HIV/AIDS deemed to be from Africa, what message do you have for the world about this pandemic?
IKO: We need to know that the HIV/AIDS pandemic is something that we need to educate ourselves about, because nobody is a victim of some sort. We can't afford to be scared. We have to find ways of fighting the disease as it's not a death sentence.
ME: What other talents do you have?
IKO: I'm a very inspiring motivational speaker, a good cook and a child of God.
ME: Are you in a relationship at the moment?
IKO: I have just built a fantastic relationship with my mom that I never had before, so for the moment there is no time for men as I am nurturing this new rebirth.
ME: What message do you have for people out there who try to bring you down?
IKO: They don't know what I'm made of. I am a child of prayer. They are going to regret even trying.
ME: Do you have any role models?
IKO: Apart from Jesus Christ, my other role models are Somizi, Oprah, my brother and eveyone born with wisdom.
ME: What sort of music do you listen to?
IKO: R & B, Soul, House music.
ME: Your favourite movies?
IKO Titanic and anything with Tyler Perry's Madea in it.
ME: Your favourite musician/celeb?
IKO: Clementine Mosimane, Thandiswa Mazwai, Busi Mhlongo and Miriam Makeba.
ME: Do you have a favourite meal?
IKO: Anything with fish and calamari.
ME: You are also known as a designer. Do you design your own outfits or do you have someone do it for you?
IKO: That's one thing that is my passion as a stylist, so my range of "ms. mash" couture is in the pipeline.

After reading Iko's answers to my questions, I can honestly say that if I was young again Iko Mash would have been my role model.

Iko Mash and friends.

LESS THAN TWO WEEKS TO DURBAN PRIDE 2013

With less than two weeks to go, Durban is gearing up for Pride 2013. There is no parade due to traffic restrictions this year I am told, but a full day's programme of entertainment has been planned. According to Metro police it takes a lot of planning, as streets have to be cordoned off so as to ensure any parade runs smoothly. The Official Programme includes: Miss Gay Durban, Sat 22, 8pm @The Lounge (Stamfordhill Rd); a Flag Raising Ceremony, Mon 24, 12pm @Durban LGBT Centre, 42 McKenzie Road; a Film Night, Tues 25, 6pm @KZNSA; a Boat Cruise by Manhunt, Wed 26,6pm @Durban Harbour; a Pre-Pride Weekend Party, Fri 28, 8pm @Plush Ultra Lounge (Springfield); the Main Event, Sat 29, 10am-10pm @The Amphitheatre (North Beach); the Official After-Party, Sat 29, 9pm, @The Lounge and 1st Durban Pink ShisaNyama, Sun 30,12pm. Facebook fans can get updates to the event here and post any questions they may have. Also if you want to look at their official Facebook page just look for Durban Pride and become one of their followers. All info was provided by The Durban Gay & Lesbian Centre in McKenzie Road Durban.

ARE YOU READY FOR DURBAN PRIDE 2013?

A scene from last year's event!

Yes folks it's that time of year the LBGT community of Durban to take out their feather boas, wigs and high heels for the parade at the end of June 2013. Last  year a gay time was had by all. This year will be no different and I'm hoping to get the inside scoop as to which celebs will be there. But you may have to wait for that nearer the time. All I can tell you is that it will be on the 29th June. Apparently it won't be a King's Park this year as there is a rugby match taking place on the same day. So hopefully it will be in the same area. Still awaiting for a comfirmation of the venue. As soon as more details become available, I will write another post about the event. In the meantime lets reminice about last year's event!

WHOSE FOOLING WHO?

The Armourplateus Parakeetus.

April Fools Day has come an gone for 2013, thank goodness, as people try to play pranks on their friends and the public via social networks and real life. Twitter was a twitter with ridiculous tweets as both celebs and newspapers tried to come up with a joke to amuse the public. Richard Branson tweeted that his Virgin airlines was to launch the world's first glass bottomed plane. Whilst a local magazine reported that the SAA inaugeral flight was about to take off from OR Tambo Airport. Another local newspaper reported that Julius Malema had joined the Democratic Alliance, and Twitter was going to start charging for the use of vowells in tweets. The hospitality industry also got in on the act by announcing that they were introducing a R100 cover charge as they were not making enough money. To be honest I had a one up my sleeve too. I took a photo of my ornamental bird in the garden and it actually looks like some extinc prehistoric bird nesting in my garden. Well I wonder who after yesterday was the fool?

IS THERE LIFE AFTER SOUTH AFRICAN IDOLS?

Yes they’re back for Season 9 and soon we will be able to watch the rise and fall of wannabe singers simultaneously on MNET  and Mzansi Magic  on Dstv . Auditions are already under way and the dates for broadcast have yet to be announced. But what about those who tried in the past and failed; and those who won? Are they still around? What are they doing now? As Julie Andrews once sang in The Sound of Music: “Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start……..” we need to go back to Season 1 of South African Idols.

Season 1 started in March 2002. The winner was Heinz Winkler , with Brandon October  (2^nd place) and Melanie Lowe  (3^rd place) as runners up. Ten years down the line Heinz Winkler has appeared in musicals such as “Rent”, and although I cannot find any proof on Google, I seem to recall him playing the part of a doctor in a local Afrikaans drama on TV. Perhaps someone can confirm that. He also performed the song “Chasing Shadows” for the South African release of the Disney movie “Treasure Planet”. He got married in 2006 and has two children. From the resume on Wikipedia, I can’t see much info about him after he got married. Even Brandon October hasn’t done much to become a huge star. Melanie Louw on the other hand has a Facebook page and can be followed on Twitter.

Season 2 was a year later in 2003 and was won by the 20year old Anke Pietrangeli AKA “The Kimberly Diamond”. According to “Entertainment TV” in an article written in 2010, she has virtually disappeared from the music scene.

Season 3 aired in the middle of 2005 with a final between Karin Kortjie and Gift Gwe  taking place at Gold Reef City. Karin Kortjie walked away with the prize with 62.58% of the viewers votes. She was one of Idols most controversial winners. She disappeared from the music scene after her then boyfriend was charged with murder. Nowadays she sings mostly in churches.

Season 4 was back on Mnet in 2007 after a two year absence, during which time their sister channel KykNet, aired Afrikaans Idols. The winner for season 4 was a 17 year old from Cape Town, Jody Williams . Apart from having a fairly successful career, her one claim to fame was in 2010 when she represented Africa in the song “Everyone” the Official Theme song for the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games. She collaborated with four other artistes, one of whom was Sean Kingston.

Season 5 in 2009 saw Jason Hartman  and Sasha Lee Davids  becoming joint winners after a mix up with the viewers’ votes. Jason is very active to this day in the music business and has also become an activist in conservation projects such as Conservation Guardians which he started in 2011. Sasha Lee Davids however is probably better known for her reality TV show on VuzuTV: “The House of Davids”, which aired last year.

Season 6 in 2010 was the turn of Elvis Blue  from George in the Western Cape, with KZN singer Lloyd Cele  being the runner up. Both have been successful to date having won a few awards between them.

Season 7 aired in 2011 after controversial judge Mara Louw was given the boot and replaced with Unathi Msengana, a local radio personality and musician. Dave Van Vuuren  from Johannesburg was declared the winner. I might add that after Seasons 5/6 it is too early to tell whether theses Idols winners will survive but they seem to be making waves.

Season 8 and 2012 was another controversial year for SA Idols, as contestants who should have been in the top 3 got voted off before they even made the Top 5. Khaya Mthethwa  from Durban came out tops, and became the deserved winner in the end.  

But what of those contestants that didn’t make it to the Top Three? Where are they? Are they still singing? As a build up to Season 9 of SA Idols I’ll take a look at what they are up to. Most information used here can be found on this Wikipedia link:  Idols (South Africa) , whilst other links are to the artistes Facebook pages. You may wonder whether there is life after Idols, but as this summary of Idols shows you have to keep working at your singing talent. After you've won, it's no use to sit back and enjoy the ride. Let's see what the future holds for these winners.       

DEAR OSCAR..........

After reading all the comments on Facebook and Twitter, I feel sorry for both families for what they've had to go through this past week. And things don't look at all good for the "Blade Runner" either. With conflicting reports floating around on the social networks, we as citizens should allow the law to take it's course and not convict him before the case has even started. I am of the opinion that Oscar should not be granted bail, not because he is guilty but for his own protection. People may want him dead now that Reeva is no longer with us, even though it may have been an accident. There is one thing I can't get my head around and that is the fact that you never called out to Reeva in the bathroom, to find out if she was okay before you fired the 4 shots. It's something I really don't understand, and it's not as though you were alone in the apartment. Reeva was not with you, where was she? She had not left the premises. This fact and the fact that you carried her down the stairs, makes the mind boggle. How long did it take you to put your "legs" on before you went to the bathroom? Were you sleeping with them on? I think you really have not thought your affidavit through before giving it to the authorities. The ANCWL don't make things any better for you either. They are demanding that you get "No Bail" from the magistrate, even though when Jacob Zuma allegedly raped one if his house guests they did not demand the same. Double standards! As the bail application continues today, the eyes of the world will be on South Africa. We will just have to wait and see what happens next...........

TO BE OR NOT TO BE.......

The youth TV show, Hectic Nine-9  should be congratulated. After yesterday's brave attempt at discussing sexuality amongst the youth on their youth show, and after reading most of the comments on their Facebook page, it became clear to me that South Africa still cannot move into the 21st Century. People still must use the bible to try and prove that humans cannot be born homosexual, and fail miserably I might add as the words contained in the bible have been handed down, translated and even re-written in so many forms that they literally get lost in translation. Personally I believe the bible and religion should be left out of this discussion as sexuality is not a choice; you do not suddenly decide that you want to be gay! The only choice you make is whether to come out of the "closet" or not. As I am no expert on  this matter, I probably do speak from experience. For years I did not reveal my sexuality to anyone, I suppose it had something to do with the "old" South Africa where being gay was a taboo. I think religion is still in the "old" South Africa too! I might as well add that I just turned 60 years old, and to date have not been struck down by lightening from heaven above for being who I am.  It sickens me to see how some youth get taught to hate those who are different to them. On the other hand it is wonderful to see how youths are embracing their sexuality amd not really caring what other people have to say. Even though gay and lesbians are supposed to be protected by our constitution, some of them still live in fear of their lives in the townships and rural areas just because they have decided to "come out" to those around them. Lesbians get raped to make them straight, and young gay men are murdered for being too feminine. What a sick society we have become. It doesn't matter who the so-called christian has murdered or raped, he has sinned in the eyes of God! But back to discussion that was held on Hectic Nine-9 , they were very brave to hold this discussion. And I was waiting for the barrage of anti-gay comments to be posted on their page by viewers who kept quoting the bible and other negative views. I was fairly amused because one of their popular presenters, Ayanda said on Twitter to someone who tried to make a negative comment about him........."I'm not going anywhere, I'm here to stay! Get used to it!" I applaud you Ayanda, to stand up to that idiot. Here's a message for those religious nutcases out there who happen to be reading this blog........ firstly please do not write negative comments here, I will delete them! LOL. And secondly did you know that there are people out there who bat for both teams? Some of them are your husbands and wives...........just saying!

NO MEANS NO!

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day and whilst everyone will be sending Valentine's to there loved ones, we should spare a thought for those who were brutally raped and are not with us today. What causes a man to to be so cruel that he and his friends force themselves on a young teenager, rape her and leave her for dead? This time they never got away with it, as their victim named them before she passed on. It turns out that the one was her ex boyfriend. I hope he rots in jail for the rest of his miserable life. I'm angry, I think the whole of South Africa is angry! Enough is enough! Real men don't rape!

STAND UP! SPEAK OUT! (Part 2)

After my last post, I felt I had not really said what I wanted to say. It appears that bullying is fast becoming a national sport; children do it, some parents do it, and now even politicians are climbing on the bandwagon. The worrying factor is that some of us who stand by and watch someone get bullied are in fact just as guilty as the bully, and we don’t even realize it. I’m sure by that now after watching 3^rd Degree’s report on TV the other evening; many South Africans are shocked at what is going on in playgrounds across the country. But it doesn’t end there. I have heard of people who get bullied at work after getting a promotion. When they report the matter to their company’s HR department, it gets swept under the carpet. In other words it gets ignored. And the bullying carries on and on. It is said nowadays that children who were bullies at school, grow up becoming members of gangs who go around causing mayhem and often end up on the wrong side of the law. Politicians try to win votes by bullying the opposition so that their supporters will end up voting for them, against all odds. In my eyes politicians like these are trying to cover something up when they realize the opposition has uncovered something corrupt that they have done.  We also have the boyfriend/husband who is the bully to his girlfriend/wife, when he says that he doesn’t like the way she dresses. Is he her fashion consultant now? Surely he liked the way she dressed when they first met? Some husbands can be such bullies, that they do not allow their wife any freedom at all. It’s as though there is no trust at all, which is a shame considering that married for love. I’m no expert on marriage but if you cannot trust your wife, who can you trust? So if you are the victim of bullying whether it is in a relationship, at work or at school; it’s time to “Stand Up & Speak Out!”

BULLYING IN SCHOOLS MUST STOP

As founder of the South African Anti Bullying Forum, it is my duty to make it known to all South Africans and the world that bullying does exist in schools, and we intend to get the authorities to sit up and take notice! And that’s not all ……. we want action! It’s been far too long that parents and fellow students just ignore what’s happening, it’s time to stand up and speak out! Don’t say “I don’t want to get involved” when you see someone being bullied. Your intervention could prevent that child/victim from committing suicide, or worse still: he/she takes a gun and shoots the bully to make the problem go away. A young man recently asked me: “Where were you when we were bullied at school?” The answer is I just wish I could have started the forum earlier. We need to start getting South Africa and the world talking about ant-bullying! If you look to the right of this post near the top of this blog, you will see a link to our Facebook page which you can “like”. You can join in by commenting and posting anti-bullying matter whether it is a quotation or a link to a news item on bullying. All will help in making people aware! Everyone has been bullied, and if you haven’t you’re either one of the lucky ones or you are the one who did the bullying. I say this because I was bullied at school. When I was 5 or 6 years old another kid tripped me up. My glasses broke giving me a bloodied nose and 2 black eyes. I’m sure children get constantly bullied by their fellow pupils, just because they’re different. A child who excels at school can also be a victim of bullying just because they’re good at sport, or whose father is a Pastor. It’s not just about being the best any more; it’s what you choose to do. A boy who wants to do ballet instead of soccer is more likely to be bullied at school as others see it as a “girl’s” interest. It seems to me that after watching the report on 3^rd Degree on eTV last night, that I need to do another post on this very worrying subject. Why do people bully other people? We shall find out more next time!

TIPS ON HOW TO AVOID GETTING SUSPENDED ON TWITTER.

Recently a few friends/followers of mine were getting suspended from Twitter. To this day they still don't have any idea as to why it happened and worse still, it happened more than once. I've tried to get a response from one or two celebs to give advice on us inexperienced tweeters, but to no avail. It's as though they are not keen to give advice to their fans/followers, which left me with no alternative but to do some other forms of research. I decided to study the tweets of one of the friends/followers of mine and discovered that you can tweet something in a reply and without realising it, your account gets suspended because of the original tweet. A prime example is this friend's friend/follower tweeted a very nasty porno/pic, and mentioned a Grammy award-winning singer's Twitter handle in the tweet. My friend had scolded his friend in a "reply" tweet in which the offensive photo appeared again. And again  this country singer's Twitter handle was mentioned. What had this talented singer done to deserve this? It's highly unlikely that she looks at all the tweets of her followers and could possibly just block them. Did you know that blocking a person on Twitter only prevents them from following or tweeting you on Twitter? You have to report them as spam to get them noticed by the Twitter police! LOL  Another example was some idiot who was mentioning local female celelebs twitter handles in a tweet, saying he was going to "rape them"! It's people like these that make Twitter an unsafe place for us. How can we avoid all this? It is always best to read the TOS of any social network as they usually tell you what you can or cannot do. This link Rules & Best Practices will give you some idea on how to stay out of trouble on Twitter. But for those who want more info should actually read the Twitter Rules before blocking or reporting people.  I bet 90% of social network users are so keen to start messaging, tweeting and posting that they do not read the site's Terms of Service before using. We just click on the "I accept" button without reading what we are accepting. I know I have been guilty of that! One last word of advice moderate your followers!

MY TOP 10 SOAPIES FOR 2012

Everybody loves a good soapie. Housewives stop what they're doing to watch the latest episode of a popular soap opera. Some people even go as far as installing extra TVs around the house just so they don't miss an episode of Isidingo, or one of the other popular soaps. I enjoy a good story and the soaps shown here locally cater for all tastes, whether you like romance, drama or mystery. This list is my 10 favourites that I watch or have watched:

1. Days Of Our Lives ......... this is one soapie that I've watched virtually from the beginning when it was first show locally. All the villians are there, as well as the heroes and heroines, not forgetting the well loved characters who some of them have sadly since passed on. And judging by the recent visit by "John Black", "Nicole Walker" and "Raeff" to our shores recently; I can see why this is one of the popular soapies on South African Television. Even though we are two or three years behind American viewers, that doesn't stop us from watching!
2. Scandal (eTV) ............ another hugely popular soap in South Africa. Well they do say "local is lekker" even though some soaps lose the plot along the way and start dishing out ridiculous boring story lines. Luckily Scandal is not one of them! It has a bit of everything, from murder to romance to humour. All they need to do now is to broadcast an omnibus of the week's episodes every weekend to keep the fans happy!
3. Isidingo: The Need ........ I think there is a soapie war going on here, because SABC3 made a decision awhile back to change the broadcast time to a later time slot (19h30) which actually clashes with eTV's Scandal which is on in the same time slot. Decisions, decisions......luckily Isidingo has an omnibus every Sunday morning.
4. 7de Laan....... a local Afrikaans (with English subtitles) soapie, all about life in Hillside. Don't bother to look for this delightful little town on the map because it doesn't exist. A story line with characters that I'm sure most of us have encountered in our own neighbourhood. If you miss an episode there's an omnibus on the weekends too! But 7de Laan is the type of storyline that if you miss a few episodes you don't miss much and can quite quickly catch up again.
5. Generations ...... This is probably one of South Africa's oldest locally made soapies. Although I find it entertaining I don't go out of the way to watch it as it's one of those stories that you could miss a whole lot of episodes and still be able to follow the storyline. Actors and actresses come and go, their characters getting "killed off" in the process. It's not the end of the road for them and are soon doing something else.......
6. Inkaba .......... written and produced by world renowned South African actor, John Khani, this soapie has a lot of potential. I would call it a local version of "The Bold and The Beautiful" as the fashion industry plays a key role in the story. Once again if you miss a few episodes, you can catch the omnibus on Mzanzi Magic every weekend.
7. Muvhango ....... I don't watch this much, but sometimes I catch the repeat on a weekday afternoon. Sometimes characters get resurrected from the "dead" which makes the plot unbelievable. Even though the language of Venda is used, there are English subtitles. In fact I think they do cater for the hearing impaired as well as the subtitles would sometimes read: Cell phone rings! Big up to the producers for that!
8. Rythym City ........ to be honest here I have never really got into watching this soapie. Maybe it's the fact that there are too many to watch or because it's a very run of the mill soapie. Definitely not as good as Scandal or Isidingo.
9. The Bold and The Beautiful ...........I have a problem with this soapie as a lot of the actors are actually ex actors from "Days". In fact even "Stefano DiMera" has had a role in this soapie. Very confusing!
10. The Wild........ a local soap that's due to be canned very soon. I can actually see why......it has the most boring storyline in a soap. I think I've sat through two episodes and actually dozed off!! I notice it doesn't even have a Facebook fan page.

And there you have it.........my views or should I say my choice of  soaps that I have watched last year! Further imformation on SA Tv programmes can be found at TvPlus  on Facebook. All the links shown here are Facebook links.

MY CHOICE OF TOP TEN REALITY TV SHOWS FOR 2012

Everybody at this time of the year is blogging about the best (and the worst) of 2012, so I probably should get in on the act too. I love watching reality TV cause it's real and some of them are contests where contestants are pitted against each other for the grand prize. I must just caution readers of this blog that the shows on this list are those broadcast in South Africa by Dstv and the SABC, so don't ask me why certain shows are not on the list as this represents reality TV in South Africa only. So without further ado here is my Top 10 Reality TV Shows For 2012:

1. Ru Paul's Drag Race  a major scoop for Dstv's VuzuTv channel. They broadcast back to back seasons of this extremely popular American TV show. Season 5 is due to be shown in the USA this month. I do hope VuzuTv has pre-ordered their copy!
2. The Amazing Race  is very entertaining too. Here pairs of contestants solve clues to reach the checkpoints first to avoid being eliminated in their race around the world. Gay couples, brother/sister, husband/wife, and even best friends are just some of the contestants who partake in a bid to win $1million!
3. Idols SA , American Idol , X-Factor ..........South Africa seems to be drawn to these singing competitions. Whether you enter and can actually sing or whether you are one of those who think you can sing is another matter all together. Viewers at home sit and watch the show, becoming armchair judges. Maybe a new show should be made called "So you think you can judge?" and for the wannabe singers......."So you think you can sing?".....
4. Suvivor  is another reality show that for some reason beyond me kept SA viewers glued to their TV Sets week after week. I just don't get it. It actually gets a bit boring for me after awhile, but then I'm not an outdoor (in the bush) type of person. Why have I put this show at number 4? If there's nothing else on TV at the time, I'll watch! I love all the backstabbing that goes on. Reminds me a bit of some people I know! LOL
5. Got to Dance ........of all the dance shows I've watched, this is one of the best. A lot of young dance talent gets unearthed here, and when I say "young" I mean children as young as 7 years old compete in this contest which takes place in the UK. This is the one to watch! Very real, good show on VuzuTv on Dstv.
6. The Real Housewives of Atlanta .......this is one of the best in the franchise. Forget about the housewives of New York, Orange County, Miami, mind you I wouldn't like to have cameras following me around 24/7 recording every word, catfight and romantic moment. The reality star for me here is Nene Leakes. Watch the name, she is going far. Some of her recent sucesses are Glee, The Apprentice, and The New Normal.
7. America's Got Talent , SA's Got Talent .........contestants enter and sing, dance, do magic tricks, in fact whatever other talent they posess, just to win prize money. Well the latter is in South Africa. In America you can win $1million and the chance to have your own show in Las Vegas. Actually I find the South African version a bit bland and it's almost as if they are rushing through the contest. Whereas the American version.......now there's real talent.
8. Undercover Boss .......now that's something they should have here in South Africa. For the uninformed, bosses of large companies go undercover and masquerade as workers in their companies to get hands on imformation regarding various problem areas. A very interesting show, although I cannot see local businessman doing the dirty work once they've become a "boss"! LOL
9. The Bachelor .......... a bachelor chooses a bride to be from a group of women, and they all stay together in the "Best Lil Whorehouse in Texas".....actually they don't. But this must really be one of the most boring reality shows on TV.
10. America's Next Top Model ..........hasn't this show been on too long? I mean someone mentioned season 16? Surely viewers must be bored to tears by now! (Yawn......) Unless of course you are a fan of Tyra Banks  I suppose.........

Well that's my Top 10 Reality shows done and dusted. If you want more imformation on any of these shows, you can visit TvPlus my favourite magazine on Facebook!