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...
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,...
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...
Represent ♥’s Everyday Tweeple – Meet @umlungux
And with @umlungux, Represent ♥’s Everyday Tweeple series just gets sicker. If you haven’t got it yet, we’re sharing our own twisted bouquet of everyday Southern African hearts and minds with you, we hope you’re keeping up. It’s takes a lot of different people to truly Represent. So we’ve still got a long way to go. Don’t forget to follow us on @sisiwami. Sharpile Garth Shoebridge for the hawtness and for being toi… * Name: Garth Shoebridge * Location: Melville, Jozi * Bio: There ain’t room enough in one line for me and my summary What does the X stand for? I don’t know if you remember, but back in the day there was a left wing political party who’s leader renamed himself to Khoisan X (After Malcolm X). I thought this was such a dickhead move, that when I had the opportunity to use umlungux, it only felt right to continue the idiotic tradition. My partner and myself decided to call our company umlungu in 1999. And I have used umlungux ever since. Over the years the best mutation of it that I use is oom lungu. Here’s some room, tell us your summary A failed rockstar, pornstar and deathstar, umlungux divides his time between gun and drug running, running a small digital agency in Jozi, and trying to perfect a bubblegum flavoured strain of mary jane on his plot. Why Melville? Melville is where the company router and server is. During the day it’s got a fantastic vibe and when on its best behaviour, it reminds me a bit of Yeoville. At night it becomes a very good place to practice your “Don’t fuck with me” walk. I used this to good effect when in Nuremburg, Germany recently. To answer your next question, the trademarked “Don’t fuck with me” walk consists of wearing Michelle Pfeiffer’s cat suit but cutting a hole for your dick and balls to hang out. Seems to have worked thus far. Melville is also the Yang to my Ying which is a smallholding 20mins south of Johannesburg. The contradiction between the somewhat urban Melville and Farm like home environment is invigorating. (see attached pics of our 4.2 Hectares of south african happiness) WTF is a sushiup? Vegetable, Animal or mineral. Some of us that have met on Twitter get together over dinner every now and then – at a Sushiup Tell us 5 things that are Very Bouffant for you right now 1. The never-ending rollercoaster of a journey that is living in a house with 4 females (1 missus and 3 daughters) 2. My job – working with things that go click-in-the-night...
Through urban’s Eyes: The View From her Camera
Sharpile to @_thanda_ aka Thanda Kunene for asking great questions of such an inspirational young South African creative, urbanmosadi. We ♥ the way urban describes why she loves living in Cape Town as well as her nickname for Johannesburg… and our favourite line from the interview has to be… “I seem to thrive outside of my comfort-zone, and in this case being away from home, is the only way I grow.” Representahs, make sure to shift your comfort zone every now and then – while you can, and always DO what you love. We’ll leave it up to Thanda and Urban to convince you: Tiisetso Molobi AKA Urban Mosadi is an ever-changing soul with plenty of thoughts and silent serenity. She speaks deeply about her love of photography and the need for vintage in one’s life… The name is Urban Mosadi. How did it come into existence? urbanmosadi (with the lower case) urbanwoman. I needed to open up a new email account and I needed a name that described who I was, and what I wanted to become. Mosadi means woman. The t.molobi@blahblah was really not an option for me. For the longest time I have been a tom-boy, so wanting to blossom into a woman/lady one day, made it easy for me to stick with the word and name. I have had this alias for about 5 years now. Although I still have tom-boy tendencies, I feel like I’m evolving into this urbanmosadi I envisioned years back successfully. You now reside in the windy city of Cape Town. What made you change scenery from Joburg which is also your home town? I’m a rolling stone. The moment I am in myJoHo for too long I start getting ants in my dashiki pants…lol. After coming back from living in Los Angeles for most of last year (2009) I wanted to find a place that I could connect with back home, Capetown is alot like LA, or LA is alot like Capetown. Lots of landscape similarities, I reckon the C in Capetown definitely stands for Creativity. I love that about this city. Call it what you will Slaapstad, Apetown Little Europe, but there is an organic creative buzz about this town. I also love that folks out here are mad stylish. I love love that. But over and above that, I needed a place that would be kind to my heart. I seem to thrive outside of my comfort-zone, and in this case being away from home, is the only way I grow. I never understood the “cut throat” term used to describe myJoHo…I still don’t. I’m actually starting to...
South Africa, the world loves you. Much Love, Editorista
As many of you may know, I, Editorista, currently reside in Belgium and have been living here for a while now. I have to tell you that right now, everywhere I look, whether it be a corny advert on TV(see below), a 20 page spread in a music magazine (see below below), the front cover of a holiday brochure or the clothing rack in a supermarket, South Africa is EVERYWHERE. Or should I say, Afrique du Sud. I have been documenting all the places I see our name on my twitter feed @sisiwami – please do follow me to stay in touch. Today, however has taken the cake, or should that be ze gateau! While strolling through the park in my city, I was handed a can of Fanta, and guess what the flavour was??? See the photo! South Africa.Exotic. I kid you not, see CocaCola Belgium’s website here. So… how do we taste you may ask? Pretty damn Schweet! Forget the naysayers, the world loves South Africa and many people recognise our young democracy as somewhere really special. A friend said to me the other day: “what’s it like to come from a place that’s on everyone’s lips – in a good way”. I tell you what, it feels freaking awesome. Now if only ALL South Africans could adore our country as much as we do. Here’s to a successful World Cup, I know we’re gonna prove them all right. I’m so glad I’ll be there. See you soon! Bisous! May 19th: La nouvelle revue d’histoire also have South Africa on the front cover http://bit.ly/boPhJe May 19th: Dutch publishers have done an entire special edition of their mag on Zuid-Afrika this month http://bit.ly/c1fsjT May 16th: here is the ridiculous advert playing every day here in Belgium with the guy ‘speaking in & dancing Zulu’ http://bit.ly/dnVTkF rofl&smh May 15th: In Monocle this month: Ready for kick off – South Africa http://bit.ly/bZ6IzN May 20th: still speechless. DL creates special world cup sauce… South African Jambo. Isn’t that swahili? Cheap shot....
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