Group Exhibition at the Momo Gallery
Nov14

Group Exhibition at the Momo Gallery

Don’t miss this exceptional Group Exhibition at the wonderful Momo Gallery running till the year runs out! 08.11.2010 – 31.12.2010 Theresa-Anne Mackintosh, Rodney Place, Lyndi Sales, Mary Sibande, Ransome Stanley (UK) Momo Gallery 52 7th Avenue Parktown North Johannesburg Mon-Fri: 9am-6pm Sat:...

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Represent ♥’s Everyday Tweeple – Meet @fikiswa
Aug16

Represent ♥’s Everyday Tweeple – Meet @fikiswa

We gots to represent the young tweeples in South Africa that go out of their way to inspire and uplift our super talented youth… or we wouldn’t be doing our job right. Our next edition of Represent ♥’s Everyday Tweeple is representing all the boffins out there. Meet @fikiswa Majola, she’ crazy about stars (not the trashy ones), she knows how to strip (wires), she does it at night (she’s an astronomist) and she has birthday cakes with little astronauts on them. This star-shaker she can tell you the morning star is in fact the planet Venus and not a star… and … and… Well anyway, we love a super brainy scientist,  and now you can too: Name: Fikiswa Majola Bio: Slightly insane, love astronomy, love science and education outreach. Yeah and music feeds my soul!! Who’s Katrina and why is your brother hating on her? ••••Hahahaha! It’s quite a story, well not really. I was listening to some Louis Armstrong and then my little brother moaned and said “Gosh, I feel like I’m in New Orleans!” Eventually he sent me a text message (he was right next to me, mind!) telling me to turn off the Katrina (New Orleans -> hurricaine Katrina) noise! He isn’t into jazz music at all so you can imagine his pain. :-)•••• Tell us about your love of stars ••Stars!! Now you’re talking!! 🙂 What can I say- I’m just fascinated with astronomy. It is something that all of us have experienced one way or another and there are some many questions that we probably ask in our everyday life, the answers to which have something to do with astronomy. The moon, the stars, the sun, the seasons… I just find all that fascinating- and that isn’t even the tip of the iceberg! I can’t say how long I’ve been bitten by the bug for- but in the past 3 years the itch has gotten worse. It’s one of those bites that one feels they have to share, otherwise other people won’t know how good it feels- which is what I try and do as often as I can. The only not so good thing about my love for stars is that it’s a night-time typa habit and so it gets difficult sharing but I try 🙂 What are Canis major and canis minor  and where do we find them? ••••Ah! Canis major and canis minor are “dog” constellations. In Greek mythology, canis major is represented as one of the dogs following Orion. The brightest star in the night sky, Sirius, is in this constellation and it is known as the dog star....

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Everybody loves the soleil
Aug16

Everybody loves the soleil

Ok so I’ve been playing truant… again… and you’re cntrl-f5’ing, wondering whereTF I am right? Well thanks faithful representahs, this time round I have a valid alibi. Confession… it was the SUNLIGHT. You see sunshine in Europe is just not the same as sunshine in South Africa – here it’s a timid, elusive creature whose presence should always be celebrated and never taken for granted. And that’s exactly what I came to realise in 2008 when I spent my first full summer here in Belgium (ok bar the one in 93 but I was a youngun then and weather didn’t matter) Sunshine is a commodity, and one that I sadly traded when I got here. But in every trade there is an exchange and the upside of the trade off has been 1. the opportunity to learn what it is to have 4 clear-cut seasons (and rock the winter coats and boots for real) 2. the realisation that I took sunshine for granted So in summary, when the sun called, I answered. This stay in Europe is exactly that, a stay – it has been a mind-opening, earth-shifting experience that has enlightened moi in so many ways and definitely upped my French levels. I’ve been here for 2.5 years now and on Saturday night at a Brazilian friend’s crazy wild party, I got all blushed up and shy due to a bunch of Frenchies digging my francais… I smiled and nodded and had another drink, making sure to offer them one too… knowing it was the lubrication of the tongue that let the French words flow as they did, in both directions, vous voyez. But yeah, I do suddenly feel like the language and I are merging into one sweet mashup. I’ve always believed it takes at least two years to settle into a new city or country, to feel that the streets are yours, the beats are yours and the summer is yours for the taking.  The point is, this summer has been sublime and even if my premonition two weeks ago that we were seeing the last of the very brief heatwave is turning out to be supa-accurate, a summer that lasts 6 weeks or not, I’m sucking up every drop of sunshine I can find. In Nice, France next week 😉  Sorry, had to drop that in. SO… for those of you in winter… here are three summer songs for you – the first one is 3 of my favourite bands remixed into one sweet track, the second one is ROCKING EUROPE this summer as the official summer anthem and the third… well who can’t love...

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The Only Quick Guide to visiting Johannesburg (Part2)
Jun06

The Only Quick Guide to visiting Johannesburg (Part2)

Johannesburg, Jo’burg, Jozi, let’s face it – the city is one major sensory overload for any visitor – we hope you’ve read our introductory article ‘Unlikely Johannesburg (part one)’ for tips on how to handle her curves and moods during this FIFA World Cup (and any other time you’d like to visit)…If so, you’ll be feeling confident and right at home on her golden streets. And soon you’ll discover that this hidden jewel of a metropolis is not quite the dragon everyone makes her out to be, but instead that she deserves to be listed as one of the world’s greatest cities! A lot of people have worked really hard to bring out the best in our city and we salute and thank them for that.  Sharpile! Go on now Joburg… Represent! We’ve made visiting Johannesburg easy for you and put together a quick INSIDER’S guide  based on what we love to do – this is how we like to spend our time in Jozi and we hope you’ll enjoy our favourite spots. We won’t send you anywhere we don’t love. Enjoy! Our top entries in each category are marked in Red. Thanks to all our friends and Representahs for the heads up. Contributors list at the bottom of this article – follow local Joburgers on Twitter. Feel free to add any other ideas to the comments section – HAVE FUN! And please let us know if you have found this useful! Basic rules: Don’t drink and drive – rather take a taxi – we always use Roses – the car may feel like it’s on its last legs as it rattles you around, but your driver will get you there and have a story to share. If you’re nervous about going somewhere at night, take a taxi. It’s simple. Call them and get a quote and an arrival time – it’s so worth the money not to have to drive and just enjoy the parties. You can also use a brand new homegrown business service called Jozi Chaperones… support local business and get a passionate Joburg ambassador to show you the city. Get a local simcard – we’re not promising it will be easy but we have 4 providers: MTN, Vodacom, CellC and Virgin Mobile. It gets cold at night and some mornings although the afternoons can warm up- take a jersey or jacket and boots or shoes warmer than flipflops. It’s winter now! Suburbs to avoid unless with a guide – Hillbrow, Yeoville and parts of the inner city as well as visibly impoverished areas where people may need what you have. (Sorry guys in these areas,...

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5 mins with Balkanology – 12th June, 44 Stanley- Milpark
Jun01

5 mins with Balkanology – 12th June, 44 Stanley- Milpark

Up your crazy factor – dance to a brass band and fling your hard-earned cash at a miniature mongolian double humped camel at Balkanoloy next weekend the 12th of June at 44 Stanley.  Tempting? Just do it. What is Balkanology all about? We asked Ma’or, one of the organisers to break it down: Balkanology has been running for four years. The events have grown from 600 people in the first to 2500 people in the seventh.  To date there have been seven parties in CT and two in JHB. In short, Balkanology is a massive themed party. We choose our venues very carefully and put emphasis on decor and music. Music is mostly Balkan remixed. So traditional music that has a driving bass and full of electronic and modern touches making it more palatable to the western ear. Through the decor we try and create a gypsy village gone carnival, so, hay bales, wagon wheels, live stock (for real goats, chicken, sheep…) carnival lighting, food stalls etc. We also incorporate many actors. Often the punters don’t know that they are actors simply because most of the guests come in costume as well. The actors however carry a story with them. For example, the one party was Balkanology The Great Balkan wedding where two fictitious characters Milovan & Biljana got married. The flyer to the party looked like an invite to a wedding. the whole marketing campaign was based on a real wedding, interviews on the radio claimed that it was real etc. On the night a real wedding took place with actors. A Russian orthodox style ceremony down to the T. After that we had ‘War & Peace’ with similar art instillations and actors being widows, soldiers, suicide bombers etc. Then came ‘The Gypsy Wake’ where the guests were welcomed at the entrance by the grieving family. Crying on your shoulder or simply shaking your hand thanking you for coming. Sad music played while the open coffin was on display. At around 22:30 the father of the deceased  gave a speech on what a special person Milovan was and how he would have loved us all to party for him and then the party kicks off. Then there was ‘The Resurrection’ then ‘Metamorphosis’ etc. What nations make up the Balkans and what do they offer the world? The nations that make up the Balkans are: *  Albania *  Bosnia and Herzegovina *  Bulgaria *  Croatia *  Greece *  Kosovo (partially recognized) *  Macedonia *  Montenegro *  Serbia Other countries sometimes included are: *  Moldova *  Romania *  Slovenia *  Turkey They offer amazing music and a true glimpse into...

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