I like, where you sleep

This song brings a stupid grin to my face everytime I hear it. It's playng as I type this on teh radio. People in the office are wondering why I'm grinning like a stupid fool.

It's so damn sweet. The video also kicks serious ass.



Hellogoodbye - "Here (In Your Arms)"

When you are the one, the one that lies close to me.
Whispers "Hello, I've
missed you quite terribly."
I fell in love, in love with you
suddenly.
That there's no place else I could be but here in your arms.

I like,
Where you sleep,
When you sleep,
Next to me.
I like,
Where you sleep;
Here.

Cause our lips,
Can touch,
And our cheeks,
Can brush.
Our lips,
Can touch;
Here

They were featured on The Real Life - Austin (killa show by the way). When they had to hook something up for SXSW.

Speaking of which, there's just something about reality TV shows. I thinks it's the fascination with peeking into strangers' lives and getting to know how people live their daily lives that appeals to me. I've been a fan of Survivor, The Amazing Race, The X Effect, The Apprentice, and that other one where a bunch of guys fight the natives, [...I forget what it's called now] you name it, I've watched it. Probably. Be reasonable in your naming.

I'm loving Miami Ink at the moment. Considering my undying fascination with tattoos. It really fils that tatt gap. :P

I even got my aunt hooked onto Big Brother Africa (the first one), and now everyime they make a new one, she let's me know. How cool is that. I got my eldest cousin hooked on Flava of Love. He also couldn't get enough of it. At the end of every episode, he would ask when the next episode was. Good stuff. I'm a bad influence. LOL!

I love it (reality TV and the song... bonus if they have the song in a reality TV show... i.e. The Real Life!!).

I can die a happy man.

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Open invite - birthday bash!

This is an open invitation to anyone and everyone who's reading this!

You are invited to my birthday party!!

That's right. You are invited.

There's no way I'm gonna be outdone by Mandela. I've decided to throw the mother of all parties. And it's gonna continue till May 2009. Yes. 2009. Who knows I might just extend it to 2010, just before the FIFA World Cup.

Why not? If he can have birthday concerts and parties and stuff since June, why can't I?

I swear it seems like almost everyone who tries to get people to come to their concert or whatever, they just change the name a bit to something like 'The Mandela's 90th Birthday Charity 46664 Nelson Mandela Foundation Party' and that's a month AFTER his birthday. And I'm pretty sure the guy doesn't even know half these people who keep throwing parties left-right-and-centre in his name.

So in light of the above... I've decided to do the same.

So check your inboxes people. The party will be held at an undisclosed location. At a predetermined date and time.

Peace!

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The tour [part 1] - Number Four

Ok, as promised...

I went and did it.

There're six main sections to the Constitution Hill.
Namely:

• Constitution Square,
• Old Fort,
• Women's Jail,
• Constitutional Court,
• Great African Steps, and
• Number Four.

So I went and explored Number Four today.

Number four was basically a prison where political prisoners and other "criminals" (I put that in inverted commas because most of them were arrested for refusing to carry their passbooks and marching - like Mahatma Ghandi for instance.)

Prisoners where treated in extremely inhumane ways, where they were severely punished and beaten for meaningless things (at times a 1 prisoner would be beaten by all the wardens in the prison). They were subjected to strip searches. The Black prisoners were strip searched by Black warders. They were made to do degrading things like open their rectums so the warders could see if they had smuggled anything in. Notoriously known as the Tauza dance.

While there were some white prisoners as well. They were treated like royalty. They never ate the same food more than 2 days in a row (unlike Black prisoners), they had a menu from which to choose what they wanted to eat; they were given pillows, pillow cases, bedspreads, a slim mattress, 3 blankets, etc. Basically anything they needed to make their stay as comfortable as possible. Whereas the black people were only given 3 blankets. That's it. 3 blankets.

Anyway...

As I continue on my pursuit of education; I've seen how the old system was treating our black brethren. And it sickens me that today's prisoners demand they have DSTv installed in their cells. WHAT THE FUCK FOR? I don't even have DSTv! I work 40hrs a week, and I still don't have it. It's bad enough that I have money deducted from my salary every month to pay for your daily meals, now you wanna take that money and pay up your DSTv subscription? WHY?
Even the fact that they have TVs to begin with pisses me the fuck off. They're there to be punished for the wrongs they have inflicted upon society.
The Black prisoners at Number Four had done nothing wrong. Most of what they did was deemed illegal because of the fucked up apartheid system. Sucks that the youth of today wanna use prison as some sort of recreational center instead of what it was meant to be... an institution put in place to rehabilitate them. And yet most up-and-coming criminals aspire to be sent to prison because they'll at least get to watch TV and get some drugs while they're at it.

Shit is fucked up!

article: DSTV in jail

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This is embarassing

I spend a good 8 hours in one of the most historical landmarks on South African soil. Constitution Hill.

And yet, I have only seen 5% of it. I'm not really even sure what happened here that changed South Africa's history forever.

How is this possible?

I don't know, myself.

So i've taken it upon myself to see small portions of this place everyday. I'm gonna take some pics and upload them onto Flickr.

It's sad how us as South Africans are surrounded by historic places, but never really take the time of day to explore or really even find out why millions of people fly in from all over the world to come see what's right under our noses.

Ask any South African what/where they'd love to see before they die... and the first thing that comes out of their mouths is some foreign place. The exact place where people are coming to South Africa from.

Why?

I'm changing that. Starting right today.

How do you spell 'embarassing' by the way?

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Survey type interview...

0n1. Your name/gender
~~~Mxolisi Mkhonza

2. Where do you live/have lived? Is this the country, town, or city? Is this a poor, middle class, or wealthy neighbourhood?
~~~I’ve moved a lot. Can’t really put all the places here…


3. How many years have you lived there?
~~~I’ve been a South African my whole life – 23yrs

4. Your race (Black, White, Asian, etc.)~~~Black

5. What do you really like about your country?~~~It’s all I know. I love the diversity of the people. Some places are more friendlier than others. A warm people all round.

6. What are some of the things you can do in your country?
~~~I can do anything I want. It’s a free country governed by one of the best constitutions in the world.

7. Describe the people .
~~~ see #5

8. What did you think of your president as a leader? and as a person?
~~~I think he’s the man! I don’t really like politics, at least we’re not in some sort of crisis like Zimbabwe or some other African countries. We’re the number one African country. The most advanced. All other African countries look up to us. All this can be directly linked to our president. Same as if there was some sort of crisis.

9. What are some accomplishments your country has made?
~~~ Fought against racial segregation (apartheid). It didn’t take us 400+ years. It took 46. That is an achievement on its own. A struggle lead mostly by the youth of this country.

10. Describe the geography of your country~~~Geography… I’m not too sure what this means… It’s on the southern most part of Africa. Has around 48 million people. Great weather. Sadly that’s as geographical as I can get.

11. What are some rumours about your country that are either not true or blown way out of proportion?~~~Being an African country. People automatically think that we live in poverty and are amazed when they come here and see most of the same things they have in the more advanced “first world” countries. I think the biggest rumour is that we walk around wearing animal skins and live in caves or something like that.

12. What do you need to be careful of in your country? Is this only in certain locations?
~~~ Crime and AIDS, like everywhere else in the world.

13. What is your favourite place in your country? Why?
~~~ Cape Town. Even though people say that the racism in that city’s rife, I somehow never get exposed to it. For some reason I get the happy, easy going, laidback side of Cape Town life.

14. How are things improving in the slums and what still needs to be done?
~~~ Some “slums” are improving and others not. Progress is pretty slow. It’s happening, yes, but it’s taking forever. There’re still some people without proper housing or sanitation in some places. And some of them were promised these basic things 14-15 years ago. A lot still needs to be done.

15. Do families tend to be very close? Do grandparents tend to live in the home of their children instead of nursing homes? What's a family like?
~~~ I think the nursing home trend is more common in white communities. Us Black people, always take care of our grandparents. Because most of us were raised by our grandmothers and consider them to be pillars in our society and social upbringing. That’s not something you can just post off to some nursing home and make them somebody else’s responsibility or even somebody else’s problem.

16. What are some dishes (cuisine)?~~~ Traditional food is very popular in our country. We enjoy food that is mostly cooked in abundance for a lot of people to enjoy in a social setting. Dishes like mogodu (tripe), dumbling, umfino, amanqina, and many others. But we’re most famous for our weekend braais (barbeques). Biltong is also a very popular snack in this country.

17. How prevalent is racism in your country? Is it more hidden or open or equally both? More with older generations?
~~~ In my opinion, I think the older generation, considering they are the ones who grew up under white domination, is the ones who still consider the white man superior to them. Obviously some racism goes on unreported behind closed doors. Other than that racism is pretty much under control; in comparison to the past were it was the norm.

18. Is there a middle class?
~~~ yes

19. Talk about the economic divide and the problems it causes- if relevant
~~~ Though the lines are getting blurry, between rich and poor, there’s quite a noticeable difference between the two. There’re certain places where there’s an extreme contrast between rich and poor. Whereas other places the difference is sizeable, and within global norms.

20. What are some holidays/ceremonies? What occurs?
~~~Most holidays are in correspondence with the western world, where we celebrate Christmas, Easter, World Aids Day, and other holidays at similar times. And then we have our own holidays such as Freedom Day, Youth Day.


21. Where do you think your country will be in 20 yrs?
~~~I think we will be a lot more modernized. Advanced if not on par with the rest of what is considered first world countries, as foreign investment and trust continues to grow. Will also be more unified as a people towards making this country a better place.

22. How has your country been influenced by other countries?
~~~There’s a major foreign influence in South Africa at the moment. Everything from adopting cultures and beliefs; to having a more global economic market which in return sees more foreign currency and partnerships being struck between ourselves and different nations.

23. Why should someone visit your country?
~~~To experience a different side of Africa. We have everything (and everyone) here. If you want to get in touch with the “motherland” this is the place to do that. If you want to come here for business, this is the place.

24. Describe some "street smarts" you use in your country
~~~I think street smarts starts with being able to communicate with the man on the street. Language is very important. You need to understand basic phrases and terms used in everyday South African life, then you’ll be fine.

25. How do people greet?
~~~Because we’re a nation with so many different cultures, languages and customs; how you greet one person (in the traditional sense) will almost definitely differ from how you greet the next. Except in instances where you’re relating in a more casual context, where street smarts play a major role. E.g. when someone says to you “Howzit” they don’t actually wanna know how you’re doing; it’s South African colloquial for “Hello”.

26. Can you tell me about the various indigenous groups? -if relevant
~~~I’m not too sure how to explain this; we have two basic indigenous groups, namely the Ngunis and the Sotho. In the Nguni group we have Zulu, Xhosa, Ndebele, Tshonga, Vhenda, and the Swati. The Sotho’s are: Tswana, Pedi and Sesotho. I’m not too sure about the Khoisan? The languages and traditions are more or less the same within the specific group. The Nguni dress and behave in a certain way… their excessive use of colour. Probably influenced by where they are found. Which is usually around lush vegetation, where there’s a lot of colour etc. The Sothos, tend to use basic colours, like brown, etc. Customs are also distinctly different across the different indigenous people.

27. Would you say it's a safe country? Does it depend where? Safe compared to where? Less safe compared to where?
~~~Yes. Yes. Considering the only really lived in one country long enough to answer your question… I’d say, safe compared to Brazil. Less safe compared to the Britain where the police don’t even carry guns.

28. How do people have fun?
~~~Clubs. Occasional soccer games. Picnics by the park (which somehow end up as parties).

29. What are some basic manners?
~~~Amongst black people: (1) Respect for elders is major around most communities. (2) When walking with a woman, the man always walks through the door first, in case there’s danger he can handle it before she walks in. (3) Men don’t wear hats indoors.

30. What do people like to talk about? Not talk about?
~~~Talk about: Soccer. Differences and similarities between genders and traditions. Whatever’s is making headlines at the time. Celebrity gossip. Money. Other people’s money. 2010. Not talk about: We live in a pretty free country where anyone can talk about anything. Freedom of expression is a right. So I can’t say there’s something we don’t talk about.

31. What are some religions in your country?
~~~There are many religions mixed in with our own African beliefs together with Christianity. Most of which were formed in the past two centuries. Though are mainly based on Christianity.

32. Can you give me a very brief history?
~~~Brief: mixing black people with whites used to be illegal. Kings and queens still exist. Strong beliefs when it comes to tradition and culture. That’s as brief as I can get.

33. How does a polite guest behave?
~~~That differs from one tradition to the other


34. Can you trust the police?
~~~Lately yes. Because some have been given the instruction to shoot to kill. So yes. Admittedly there are those few that give most a bad name, but generally, most are okay.

35. How has your country helped the environment?
~~~I have no idea.

36. How do people care for children? Their own and others?
~~~That depends on where they are, financially and otherwise. Those that can afford it, have nannies or take them to day care while they (the parents) go to work. Others have their children cared for by their parents (the children’s grandparents)

37. What is school like? How many years must you go? What do you learn? Are there uniforms?
~~~Again, depending on demographics, our schooling system caters for everyone. There are some schools that offer free education as required by the government. You go to school for 12 years, from grade 1 to 12. You can leave school after grade 9, but matriculate after grade 12. We learn everything from languages, to basic life skills, arithmetic, economic studies, etc.

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Interviews...

Hello all...

I'm being interviewed by a researcher person with regard to the demographics of my country in not necesarily in comparison to the rest of the world. But as part of some comparitive research she's doing.

I've always been fascinated by someone asking my opinion or view on things. So obviously, being presented with such an opportunity, I couldn't say no.

I'll post the interview here as time goes by. I've done one already and am busy with another one.

So I'll see you later...

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Me.

I've been through a lot of things both good and bad. The good has been very good and the bad pretty bad.

I love music.
I love food.
I love exploring.

I am "snobbish".
I am "ghetto".
I am a coward.
I am brave.
I am smart.
I am creative.
I am talented.

I am not a hard worker.
I am not fake.
I am not afraid to say what you least expect of me.

I've been excited.
I've been saddened.
I've been hurt.
I've hurt.
I've been good
I've been bad.
I've been very bad. (Upon request of course)

I'm naughty. (Upon completion of a non-liability form)
I'm nice.
I've loved.
I've hated.
I've been hated, loved, admired, and envied. (Sometimes all at once)
I'm rude at times.
I'm cool most of the time.

I've lived with family.
I've lived with strangers.
I've lived in a hostel type setup.
I've lived on my own.
I've lived with a gay guy. (no, not like that!)
I've lived with a woman.
I've lived with a girl.

I've done the whole "long-distance relationship" thing.
I've done the whole "live-in-lover" thing.
I've done the whole "loving someone else's girl" thing.
I've done the whole "kissing someone else's girl" thing. (while the guy was there :P)
I've done the whole "seeing a married woman" thing.
I've done the whole "doing somebody's fiancè" thing.
I've done the whole "dating at work" thing.

I've travelled.
I've walked long distances. (for no particular reason, sometimes it's ok to just explore your surroundings)
I've gone to therapy.
I've gone to places where I didn't know anyone.
I've gone to places where I knew everyone.
I've gone home when I hit hard-times.
I've gone home to celebrate the good times.

I've been late for interviews.
I've been early for interviews.
I've been offered jobs and accepted.
I've been offered jobs and declined.

I've been first.
I've been in the middle.
I've been last.

I've been an over-achiever.
I've failed.
I've passed.
I've been top of my class.
I've been average.
I've dropped out of school.

I've been an intern.
I've been in trouble.
I've talked myself out of trouble.
I've talked myself (and others) into trouble.

I've been known to speak my mind.
I've been known to say very little at times.
I've been known as the trouble maker.
I've been known as the saint among sinners.
I've been known as a staunch churchgoer.
I've been known to skip church for years on end.

I've felt like dying.
I've felt like crying.
I've felt like smiling for no reason.
I've felt like flying.
I've felt like running in no particular direction.

I've wanted more.
I've been offered more.
I've wanted less.
I've been offered less.
I've asked.
I've received.
I've achieved

I've lived as I have envisioned.

Most of all, through it all... I've always been and will continue to be... me.

All these things that I've been through have, without a doubt, made me the Mxolisi Mkhonza that I am right this very second.



I don't regret anything I've ever done. I regret the things I've never done. Most of which I don't even remember; because I've always done what I felt like doing at the time. I don't live off of regrets. My life is based on experiences. All this is me. All this is based on a true story. My story.



Who I am and what makes me... me.



At 23, I've done things most can only dream of. And the worst part is that I'm only getting started. I'd hate to look back at my life and feel like there's something I've missed out on. I've tried to be as true to myself as I possibly can. I admit at times I failed. But other times I succeded beyond my wildest dreams.



Stick around... there's more to come.



Truly yours...

Mxolisi Mkhonza, Mathe, Malobisa, Mangena, wena owawela umfula ugcwele ngezihlenge!

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This is some bullshit!

What the hell!?!

Who the hell decided that ladies should pay less entrance fee at clubs?

I'll have you know, it's these very same girls/women/ladies (being politically correct can be so hard) who end up getting drinks offered at them. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that. I'm just saying, if they paid less at the door, why should they not make up for that with the whatever it is they spend their money on inside the club?

As a guy, the chances of you spending more than you intended at any given time at a club, are stacked much higher than those of a girl who just went clubbing with only the entrance fee in her purse.
For some unknown reason, we take it upon ourselves as guys to get every other girl we meet as drunk as humanly possible. Therefore decreasing the chances of getting rejected by the said girl. Either that or we're just hoping they'll be drunk enough to lose all inhibitions and end up actually leaving with you. Not because you're such a nice guy, but mainly because she keeps telling you about how she needs to find the rest of her "girl friends" and how much of a nice guy you are for volunteering to help her search for them. Meanwhile all you're hoping for is that you never find them.

Okay, let's get back on topic here...

Girs usually pay around 50% less than guys do at clubs. Which is totally unfair because the very same girls who paid less at the door will end up feeling a bit otherwise when faced with the 5:1 guy to chick ratio. But you really can't blame us ladies, some of the guys out there couldn't afford the asking price at the door. Plus most of us who could make the cover charge, were really enticed by the 'Ladies FREE Before Midnight!!' marketing strategy. Then when we got to the door realised that that actually meant we're paying double so you girls can come in, and get drunk FOR FREE.

Lemme explain:
Let's say the cover charge for guys is R100. Ok. And girls get in for free before midnight and it's R50.
So basically the cover charge is actually R50 per person. Irrespective of the sex. But while the ladies get in for free, all the guys must pay for their entry. So the club manager doesn't really lose anything. Coz the real entry fee is actually R50, but all the guys are paying for all the girls that got in free while the free entry tule still applied. Thereafter everyone's back to being equal. Even if the guys still pay R100 even after the girls are now required to pay their own fee. Which is a double score for the manager.

Now let's get to the drinks side of things...

So I pay my R100 at the door. Get stamped. Stroll right in. Then immediately, I start scanning the place for some potential beauty to try and impress by buying drinks for her and two of her "cousins".
Okay, so I notice some willingness on her part, as I smoothly ask what she's drinking. She coyly (is that even a word?) flirts right back as she can see some potential free booze flowing her way. Enough to get her drunk enough to decide (at the end of the night) that she'll be leaving with her so-called cousins. Who might actually be some bored room mates of hers who had nothing better to do on the night in question.
Anyway... so I keep the alchy (short for Alcohol) coming on strong, to no objection of the fine young ladies who provide nothing else but jeers from other guys in my direction. To which I don't mind as I'm trying to work on an exit strategy for just myself and the lady with whom first contact was made.

The night doesn't get any younger... and as morning kicks in, and the DJ keeps the records spinning, the aforementioned lady of mystery starts visiting the restroom quite frequently; resulting in my suspicion as to her whereabouts. I make a move towards the direction where I last saw her. Where I notice her grinning at some other motherfucker with a gold tooth.

Where I conveniently bump into her and she starts acting all weird. At this point I realise I have successfully wasted my whole night preparing this here girl for the dude in question. Coz clearly this idiot has spent absolutely nothing towards the reward he's most likely to be receiving later in the night/morning from the girl.

Great.

Just great.

Obviously this unfolding of events all starts with the free or halftime entry at the door.

So please, from all the guys out there who've had chicks hijacked off their arms... rethink your strategies please.

**end note: The events depicted in this post are totally fictitious, if you happen to have been blessed with such an event in the past, and this has reminded you of how much of a loser you are. Then tough!**

:P

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Come on... let's abbreviate stuff!

Why the hell is everything getting abbreviated?

Come on!

I think there's only one person to blame for this. Carson Daily! (I can't even spell his surname... LOL)
In case you didn't know, he's the guy who first said TRL (Total Request Live) on MTV (Music Television). He made the phrase so popular that everything's getting abbreviated nowadays. If the abbreviated (I'm getting tired of typing out the whole word... I'm using abbr. from now on... sue me!) anyway... if some genuis comes up with a cool name for something. They just gotta have it abbreviated. (Oops).

I was listening to the radio just now. (I'm not much of a radio fanboi) Ok, so I was listening and this other person interviewing a Ms. Sangweni about a Holiday Inn in Soweto decided to abbreviate the name of the show (Breakfast With Thomas) and call it... BWT. (that's basically the inspiration behind this post)
I don't know, but something just goesn't sound right about BWT. It doesn't have that vrrr about it.

Anyways...

If you're a creative out there thinking about creating something. Just make sure it sounds cool abbreviated.

Thank you.

:P

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Fat chicks looooove salad!

NOT!

Come on... you know I'm right.

Have you ever seen a fat girl eat a bowl of salad? Ever?

I didn't think so...

Next question: Have you ever seen a fat girl at a McDonald's or KFC for instance?

Thought as much.

I was talking to someone about this the other day, howcome you never see a fat girl fussing about calories & GI and all those wonderful whatnots that skinny girls are so obsessed about?

Don't tell me it's because they were fat in the first place. No. I'll tell you why... it's simply because they don't wanna end up as fat slobs who'll do anything to get even a spicy chicken wing from Chicken Licken.

Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against fat people. If you're gonna weigh 314lbs and still eat like an elephant in heat; go right ahead. If you can afford it then why not?
Just don't end up so fat you end up becoming another bed riden (how do you spell that?) morbidly obese idiot looking for a handout coz you can't afford to get the proper medication to keep your sugar level in check. Or for that expensive open heart surgery you need to get before you die as a result of your ill health.

Please. For your sake and mine.

Coz I won't waste my hard earned money donating to your "Help Me, I'm Fat" foundation.

Eat right in the first place, then you and me will be the best of buddies.

Same applies to you, overweight geek boy!

:P

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Back on Flickr

So as you may have guessed, I'm back on flickr. After a very very long stay-away.

I haven't really started uploading anything yet.

But plan on starting soon...

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