Banks: Please help us – where should we move to?
One of our readers Sista asks for your help in choosing a better bank: My family has been banking with ABSA our whole lives and thus it was without question that I as an adult decided to follow through on this brand loyalty and stick with ABSA as my preferred bank. Today I feel so frustrated with their lack of service and archaic attitudes that I am about to break this c…hain. But that’s the thing about banking in South Africa, Banks have very cleverly convinced the average consumer into believing that once they bank with them, it’s a lifetime choice that they cannot get out of… We think that is rubbish. There is no reason why anyone should feel just because they have all their finances in one banking basket that they should stay there. In the UK there are adverts everywhere with banks trying to convince you to move your money to another bank – they are prepared to pay the costs of moving your money and debt across to them and they offer you preferential rates. Why is that not happening here? Because Banks like to treat us like idiots. A friend of ours is convinced that they are still managed and led by racist dinosaurs from the last disastrous era in our country and that they see people as stupid instead of the street-smart, money-savvy clients that they should see us as. Why do we have such ‘loyalty’ to banks – we think it’s because our perception of banking as a ‘service’ is completely misinformed. What we mean is, we think that banks think that they are doing us a favour by giving us an account. Not TRUE> Have you not looked at your statement, you are paying for every single transaction that you make with the bank. The latest urban bank talk is that apparently we pay to DEPOSIT money…. isn’t that a classic. If anyone can back that up, please let us know. Have you ever tried to get a loan from a bank – like a housing loan or a car finance loan or an extension on your bond… it is the most humiliating experience where you feel like you have to be on your best behaviour, prostrate to their power and control. NOT TRUE> Banks need your debt, they need it because they make so much money off the interest that you pay that without you having debt, they couldn’t operate. So they are just playing hard to get and if your credentials are good and you know they are, you need to bargain with them and make them BEG you...
Review: THE GAME – how to be a Pick-up Artist
Thanks to Spawn-O for sending in this review – you may also wonder what on earth a PUA is? Thanks to this article we now know it’s a pick-up-artist and this book lets you into their secret world. Sounds like a great read. Spawn-o let us know if it works! Click here to buy it from AMAZON.… The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists – Neil Strauss. The World Of PUA’s Its probably happened to every woman who’s dared to flaunt the nightlife with their graces, it’s not bad in anyway, no, it’s only a survival of the strongest, or in this case, in this world, this world of pickup artists, survival of the fearless. Neil Strauss, a name not many people are familiar with, is a proufound journalist who has written for the New York Times, Rolling Stones, and managed to squeeze out many biographies on Marilyn Manson, Motley Crue and even Jenna Jameson (How To Make Love Like A Porn Star, I wish i co-wrote that), among a few. But one book is the real eye catcher, a true story about his undercover existence in a world that many men wished they lived, a world where women are seduced into, a world where your previous self would have been eaten alive.This world is the world of Seduction. Neil Strauss, or Style as he is affectionately know to his peers, becomes the underground worlds greatest pick-up artist, and everything was true, nothing was fabricated or stretched to seems sellable, he wrote what he saw. My gosh did he see a lot. A Pick-Up Artist(PUA) of his range and calibre could enter a nightclub and be sucking on the breast of the hottest female in that room, in front of everybody there, within an hour, but not after he managed to rope at least 5 numbers out of willing victims, but his victims weren’t the desperate ones looking for a good shag or a boyfriend, they were possibly the ones who went out on the premise that they weren’t gonna give a single digit away, or even bat an eye at any men… but they, the artists, possess a talent each man has, they only know what it takes to exploit this talent and render it to their good uses – it’s merely confidence. Confidence is a big word in many peoples lives, they say they got tonnes of it, they say fear doesn’t worry them, but ask them to approach a woman, and BAM,”No i cant, shes too pretty for me.” “Look at me, I’ m certainly not her type.” So much for confidence. Just remember,...
Black Eyed Peas…They stuck to their word
So just about everyone knows that the Black Eyed Peas were here this weekend playing for their South African fans… At their debut South African concert in 2004 (Nov we seem to remember) they promised that they would be back in South Africa ‘to play in the ghetto’. Apparently they were shocked at the number of white fans at their concert … which was supposedly explained to …them as ‘a ticket issue – Black People can’t afford concert tickets.’ We think there are a number of explanations and that it’s not as simple as that. Fans will always find a way. Firstly, in our minds (and we tend to be very aware of make-up) the first concert was fairly mixed – white and black peeps were partying together as we do at most concerts or events in Jozi. BEP has a much more cosmopolitan following and with radio stations like 5FM plugging the music, there is a large ‘white’ following for what many would label as a traditionally ‘HipHop” band. Secondly, while there are many poor people in South Africa that can’t afford concert tickets or the transport to get there, we think that the apparent lack of Black people at their concert may have been about the choice in venue – that DREADFUL Dome in Northgate. Funny enough at the Snoop concert recently at least 80% of the crowd was Black …. but it was held at the Joburg Stadium – in a central area with easy access. Still not that close to the ‘ghetto’ except of course that scary Hillbrow. Or maybe the Black Eyed Peas got Durban and Cape Town all mixed up with Jozi – we’re sure those concerts may have had a whiter side of pale. No offence dudes but your reputations proceed you. We shoot from the hip. Anyway, we weren’t included in the media that went to Soweto with them – we’re sorry about not being able to fill you in on it but it’s a long story…. We tried our best. We did however get included at the main concert on Sunday night at Joburg Stadium. We had a great time and really enjoyed ourselves. We did think though that the stadium could have had a lot more people in it. It wasn’t even as full as the Non-Snoop concert – they should have filled it to the brim if it was free. The stage was awesome, the performance was slick and dynamic… the sound was ok… the crowd went crazy… it was a good one. We love concerts at the Joburg Stadium and encourage all promoters to use it more...
CRAZY – the song everyone’s loving
Have you heard “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley yet? Best you hurry….Sadly we think this song may be killed off very rapidly in South Africa as radio stations get hold of it and turn it into roadkill through repetitive airplay… you know who we mean. But the whole world is loving it and the first few times you listen to it we hope you fall… in love with it too. It’s a great hit. If you haven’t heard it yet listen to Pabi and the boys on YFM in the mornings – they were the pioneers on SA radio of the song and they are playing it regularly at the moment. Nice one guys – we love your show. Watch the video – CLICK HERE! Thanks to Stoffel for this link on YouTube of Gnarls singing the song live on Top of the Pops. It’s well worth a download – remember when downloading off YouTube to stop the video so it can load in your browser quicker – play it a couple of times till it runs smoothly. ENJOY – and tell us what you...
VITRIOLIC REVENGE – the broken laptop i sold on ebay
Thanks to Linnie for sending us the link on “AMIR”, the guy who has been hung, drawn, quartered and fried on the internet for selling a broken laptop to someone who’s clearly very angry. The story (apparently) goes like this. Amir sells his laptop to a guy in the Uk on EBAY for about R4500. The guy that bought the laptop had … to wait for two months before it arrived despite paying for it when he was supposed to. When he finally got it, it wasn’t what he had been promised – in fact it was a broken laptop – and he was highly annoyed. He then took the hard-drive out and must have got it to work on another machine as that was when he discovered the PORN and other bizarre content belonging to AMIR, the original owner, who hadn’t erased it. He then started a BLOG called “the broken laptop i sold on ebay ” which publishes all the pictures, a photo of AMIR, pics of his friends etc. Now while we appreciate why he may have been angry, do you think that ruining someone’s life by exposing their dirty laundry on the net as well as all their personal details is justified? We feel a little sorry for Amir. Often when we’re p-ed off we do things out of emotion and then bear huge guilt afterwards for venting our feelings… The author clearly has no guilty feelings about his vitriolic revenge. CLICK HERE TO GO THERE>…. what do you think? A laugh or a little too...
Review: Cape Town International Jazz Festival
Our new Cape Town writer Yumna gets familiar with Jazz at last weekend’s Cape Town Jazz Festival and finds that she’s entranced. She also got a little more info for us on Kwani Experience…. you know we love them! Thanks Yumna! In those shiny, Hollywood wedding movies there is usually the cake tasting scene, where the happy couple eats a bit of a fabulous looking and tasting… wedding cake and then swiftly moves along to the next one. That was the 2006 Cape Town International Jazz Festival. With over 40 jazz acts and five stages competing for attention, there was more then enough to bite off and for your taste buds to salivate. Although it would disappoint many having to pay an extra R25 to get into Rosies, especially being a struggling student with bank statements that read: TRANSACTION FAILED. The acts that took place on the other four stages were enough to keep me satisfied. Getting into the mood on Friday 31st, I swiftly moved through the largest venue, Klippies, into the outside stage, Basil “Manenberg” Coetzee, which was worth braving the early evening chill as Thandiswa Mazwai moved all our rears into action with her gospel, traditional, Afro pop beats, spreading smiles across the audience’s faces. After catching a quick breath of ‘fresh air’, I quickly slipped into Baseline, the stage which would become my home for the next few hours and the next day, and prepared myself for the act I had been waiting for, Relax, the Dutch hip hop/jazz/rock/funk/ I could go on forever group. As they strutted onto the stage, showered in blue light, in their matching black suits and white shirts with eerie piano music slipping through the crowds, I politely put away my pen and notepad and began to roar and jump up and down like the true closet groupie I am! I rested my poor feet before readying myself for the group that had so much hype around them I was almost sure that the balloon would deflate. But fear not, Kwani Experience were there to impress. With a few disappointed patrons, the thrashing dreadlocks and hypnotic back and forth movements of the audience rang the bell for the end of my night as I then decided to fatten myself up with the perks of having a press pass. [SEE REVIEW ON KWANI BELOW] The next day I felt as if I hadn’t even left the festival, arriving just in time to catch Chouchou Valdes. I looked up at the big screen with my mouth open watching the living legend mix jazz, Cuban and classical music at the same time as...
We will be back!
