Represent WTF: Reality TV Rant – Kidneys???
Did you watch Fear Factor this week? WTF??? It was absolutely frightening. Three contestants had to lie half-naked in a hole covered in huge scorpions that crawled all over them, stung them and clawed their bodies. Only one of the contestants – a guy – managed to remain in place for 2.5 minutes, the other two women screamed blood curdling murder and had to be removed from the pit as they got more and more hysterical. They freaked out completely! It seemed that the organisers had to ‘introduce’ another task to give the women another chance at winning – but more than likely to placate them. With those noomphie facial expressions and sarcastic tones, they were p-d off of note. So would I be. Damn those things were scary. Then today I read about a Dutch reality TV show that has just been given the green light to go on air where “a terminally ill woman is to select one of three contestants to receive her kidneys when she dies” read more in the UK Guardian here. WTF??? One has to ask the question – does Reality TV have a sell-by-date – will EVERYONE bore of it like one does with anything they have too much of? What about the moral grounds of Reality TV – I find it an extremely morbid notion that a nation could be captured by a dying woman making a choice about who will save her. Especially if you’re someone else in her position that doesn’t have that choice. Or are we being too petty? Just how far can we go? The Dutch have always been renowned for their liberalism, particularly social, but what kind of a society gets it’s kicks out of someone else’s pain and debilitating medical condition. Will viewers find entertainment in the show or is it a purely voyeuristic attraction – letting someone else’s sad life make you feel better about yourself? On a more cheerful note, a little birdie tells us the filming of Survivor 2 on an island off Malaysia is nearly over – we’re looking forward to round two. We’re such a unique (some would say screwed up) society that watching us interact is high entertainment! We’re sure we’ll soon meet the contestants. And on a brighter than bright (lol) note there’s the Surf Fashion Your Future program that features one of Represent’s good friends – John Sithole – you will remember we supported John when he was starting out a few years back with our “Lotto Jeans” project which had great results (Sharpile to all of you again!). Apparently it’s a wannabe Project Runway, that features a number of young SA fashion designers...
Represent Review: Chippendales in Joburg
After spotting the dudes flexing muscles (see photo below) for a flustered Noleen and sms-laughing about them with a buddy watching in Cape Town – we decided that we had to find someone to go and check the Chippendales out at this year’s show at Carnival City. Fo Real. We called on TanTan who wrote the last review in April ’05 (read here) but she was busy… and then her fabulara sister AmorAmor stepped up to the…dancefloor (fight cheese with cheese). Sharpile Sista’s! After hearing about the show on the radio ALL the time I must admit, I was very intrigued (and keen) when asked to write a review. All I can say is … the battle of the sexes is null and void. Sitting in a cavernous arena at Carnival City, surrounded by a full representation of every conceivable type of South African woman, I found myself utterly overwhelmed by the sheer level of noise and palpable anticipation around me. And it was not wasted. These boys … I mean men, were everything you would expect and more. Perfectly chiselled bodies, charming smiles, witty repertoire and butts that make even the most decent woman want to cop a feel. The show was slick, the choreography was MTV standard, the music was a perfect mix of the hottest current hits and old favourites. Yep, these guys definitely come from Vegas. The whole presentation made you want to go straight to Sin City and lose yourself in the perfection of illusion. Every woman in the room was flushed and blushing after the opening number. Reactions ranged from the under 25’s behind me screaming “marry me!” to the over 50’s in front trying to hide their smiles. Of course all age groups gave one unified gasp when someone’s mother got treated to a Bond seduction concluded by full reveal (to her, not us). Some gasping in empathy for the embarrassment the poor woman must have been in but I’m pretty sure there were some of us gasping because they wished it were them. Surprisingly the most engaging and seductive number was also the one that saw the guys keeping their costumes on for the longest time. The Navy scene. In that one moment the universal equaliser had been released. Every woman in the room was totally enraptured by the site of these men in their sparkling white uniforms. A scene composed of no fancy dance movements but instead, coordinated marching, had everyone swooning. After the initial thrill of seeing these gorgeous specimens of the masculine form dance like pros and strip to nothing FOR YOUR PLEASURE, your heart pumping and your voice hoarse with screaming, you realise that it is the...
Represent Review: Kings Of Leon
We are an African site with a global outlook and let’s make it clear that we are not dependent on local media as our only source of what’s hot, happening or popular around the world. How could we be visionary if we were? I just happen to have one soulful cousin (what’s up bro!) in the UK with great musical taste who has promised to let me know his recommendation on the next big rock sounds for all the soulful rockers in the house (you know who you are.) Right now Stu can’t stop listening to the Kings of Leon’s new album “Because of the Times” he sent me a track (now I’m no rocker) but in my old school opinion it definitely has a touch of Counting Crows and is certainly moreish with lots of depth: STU RECOMMENDS ROCK FOR REPRESENT From the Springsteenesque opening track ‘Knocked Up’ to the sliding grooves of closing number ‘Arizona’, the Kings of Leon’s third album Because of the Times, propels the Nashville clan into the upper echelon of Rock ‘n Roll order. While still keeping with their grand old recipe for course-grained, voice strained Rock ‘n Roll, the Followill Foursome have fine tuned their art to produce an album which is, surprisingly, easy on the senses. Lead Vocalist Caleb Followill’s delivery is not always comprehensible, which simply adds to the bewhiskered aura of the album. Producer Ethan Johns approach of “If it aint broke, don’t fix it”, coupled with the King of Leon’s real world themes, forces the user to listen absorbedly. I found myself turning up the volume a number of times while listening to this album. The cheeky Rock numbers (Charmer, McFearless, My Party, Camaro) keep the Kings grounded to their roots, while the soft tone pieces (True Love Way, Ragoo, Runner, Arizona) are delicately delivered and make the album well rounded. The Kings of Leon have matured, but their music maintains its Rock ‘n Roll innocence. If you were not a fan of the Followills before, you may well be after listening to this album. Stu (Editorista’s cuz 🙂 ) Kings of Leon King’s of Leon – “On Call” video [youtube]UEh8OL0Jj-0[/youtube] Kings of Leon on...
Represent BigUps: KayaKweru in Ponto D’Ouro
BigUps to Clive and his team at KayaKweru in the village of Ponta D’Ouro in southern Mozambique for their wonderful hospitality. Some of you will remember the competition we held earlier this year – the prize was a 5 days of bliss holiday at the Kaya Kweru resort for two Represent subscribers. According to our winners, it was a great break from Jozi and a must-do for some peace of mind (remember to subscribe to Represent to enter future fabulara competitions). Unfortunately Editorista could not make it, but her chommies Ips and Eug accompanied the winners and took great care of them. Sharpile dudes for your love and support! Click here to see all the photo’s of Ponta, KayaKweru and our winners having a blast. How about your next holiday at KayaKweru http://www.kaya-kweru.com/ in Mozi? Here’s the story from Ips that may just convince you: Bongani has won a competition on http://represent.johannvisagie.com/ and his prize is a trip to Ponta D’Ouro, Mozambique with a partner. We, Eugene and I (Ipuseng), are the lucky buggers that get to take them there. We had concerns when we were told the names of our co-travellers. Bongani was taking Jabu with him, so naturally the image that comes to mind is two Jozi chaps, with hormones in tow, a free trip to Moz and the scary notion of showing this place a thing or two. This, in our minds, would entail stalking the local female species, overindulgence in alcohol, and the inevitable lateness for every activity lined up. We were pleasantly surprised to find that Bongani was taking his girlfriend Jabulile. They turn out to be a really cool young couple that care about little else but each other…phew, relief! Most are accustomed to getting to Moz via the Komatipoort border. We were going to the Southern most part and to get there you essentially follow the N2 and N17, passing towns like Trichard, Ermelo, Piet Retief, Pongola. I mean who do you know that has been to these places? Perhaps one’s eyes as the weather report flashes past after the news. It’s a beautiful drive though, nature showing off at every opportunity. The toll gates you pass through are two in total and the damage is a laughable ten rand. A pleasant change when you imagine the R200 you pay in toll money to get to and from Durban. You must be warned though that those snoozy towns also breed a particular kind of over-eager driver every so often. We were bullied by a Baba Sibanibani, in his ‘been to hell and back on these wheels and I’m not tired yet’ nineteen ancient white Cressida. He overtakes when...
Careful of that Passive Aggressive note
Or you may find it on the internet. Surely we’ve all been guilty of passive-aggressive behaviour in the form of a note, sms, email, letter etc but hopefully they haven’t been published on this blog “passive aggressive notes from room mates, neighbours, co-workers and strangers.” I know I’ve been guilty in the past. I’m often amazed and then amused to read a public rant from someone that clearly indicates that they have serious issues, are extremely insecure, are not well-endowed or are extremely miserable and lonely people who only feel better about themselves by making others feel crap or making a large sweeping public statement that is actually cringing and embarrassing for the voyeurs who see it for what it is. My mother’s wisdom of “don’t write anything down in anger for the words can not be erased” (or something along those lines) is something I have tried to stick to throughout my life (requires much inner strength at times) but particularly over the last few years when I’ve actually cared about the bad service or bad behaviour of some of the energy-draining cases I have come across. That said, I believe there are some situations that can only be remedied with the written word and often those situations need some serious aggression… For example – a work situation where you need it on “paper” for the papertrail, a bureaucracy fighting attempt (why bother??), a protest letter etc – you just have to get it out to feel better and feel that justice will be served. As long as you’re not shooting the messenger, your letter is powerful and hard-hitting and intelligent, non-emotional and your efforts are rewarded with a response or at least some positive results, then it should feel worth it. The sensible rule of thumb as we all should know, is that in general, humans tend to respond better to a little respect, some patience, some understanding, no personal attacks and less patronising tones. It’s amazing how many relationships are ruined through mis-communication or just not being upfront and honest and FACE TO FACE. The classic “taking out your bad mood on a friend/service provider”, “taking out your own unhappiness on someone else”, “being in a bad place and not able to separate a small mistake from a generally good person”, “not appreciating that they are just the voice of the company and it’s not their fault”, “all jobs are hectic and if I could try and see it a little from their perspective I do understand their approach a little”, “this person has been so good to me and I love them, we’re all human and I cannot lose this relationship which means a lot to me for a small error...
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