I arrived at my office desk and did my morning twitter routine, where I usually stalk the profile of @JoubertBotha to kick-start my day with one or two of his motivational quotes. As I was scrolling down his profile, I came across one of his retweets, which contained a catchy phrase, “The Best of Everything in South Africa. Oflocal.co.za”.
I thought to myself, there’s no way that a single online platform can contain the best of everything that this country has to offer. I immediately clicked the link and guess what I found… The Best of Everything!
As I am well-aware of the prominent reputation of Joubert Botha in the entrepreneurial and business industry, I decided to browse through oflocal.co.za systematically. Here is what I have found:
An idiot-proof website that is simple to navigate.
The top 10 lists of basically everything and anything that you are most likely to search for.
Narrowed-down search options to make your search easier.
A like button for rating purposes on each and every entity displayed on the website.
The option to start your own lists.
The option to add and contribute to existing lists.
The most popular lists are conveniently displayed on the right-hand-side of the website.
A vibrant and interactive website.
What I like mostly about oflocal.co.za is that the lists are influenced primarily by the web-surfer’s choice. This is what sets it apart from other basic directories. It benefits the web-surfer by saving him/her time (and data charges) and the listed businesses greatly, as it grant the listed businesses access to new possible business leads.
The most popular searches currently on oflocal.co.za are:
Restaurants
Things to do
Accommodation
Hotels
Wedding Venues
Schools
Pubs
Sushi Restaurants
Seafood Restaurants
Guest Houses
Of course, there are endless lists of everything grouped by category (to make your search easier) for you to choose from. I highly recommend that you access the website oflocal.co.za for your own convenience and to find THE BEST OF EVERYTHING!
The old Biscuit Mill is Located on the eminent Albert Road in Woodstock, known for its rich hipster ambiance and arty feel, primarily as a result of the influences from the multiple art galleries, fashion factories and creative writing agencies in the area. It is well known as ‘the creative hub’ in Cape Town.
The Old Biscuit Mill is a dominant commercial space in Woodstock, a large brick building coated in burgundy-brown and white paint – it is virtually impossible to miss it while driving up and down Albert Road.
The Old Biscuit Mill is home to the Neighbourgoods Market
The Neighbourgoods market is a weekly food market hosted by The Old Biscuit Mill. The Neighbourgoods market offers a variety of fresh, cultivated and organic foods sourced from agricultural farms. It is a specialised food market dedicated to those who lead a healthy lifestyle in terms of their diet, vegetarians and even those who simply want to get a taste of food – good food. You can, of course, also expect some homemade alcoholic beverages such as beer and mampoer (a strong indigenous brandy in South Africa).
Unique Factor
The latest addition to the Neighbourgoods market is of course, Fresch Bowls. Fresch Bowls manufactures unique, crafted bowls that is dedicated to contain healthy drinks such as, smoothies. The bowl itself is edible and it is composed of ‘everything healthy’. The ingredients used to craft the bowl are organic, from superfoods to frozen fruits, to nuts and indigenous plant extracts. The bowls are perfectly moulded with sugar free and gluten free ingredients, acting as material.
Location and Trading Hours
The Neighbourgoods market trades every Saturday between 9am and 2pm at The Old Biscuit Mill in Woodstock. The physical address is: 373 Albert Road, Woodstock Cape Town
The Experience
It is somewhat fascinating that an organic market such as the Neighbourgoods market at The Old Biscuit Mill is so successful in a country such as South Africa. The majority of South Africans aren’t health conciouss beings and this contributes largely to the unhealthy lifestyles lead by many South Africans. On the other hand, if we look at Cape Town on its own (there’s a saying that goes, ‘there is South Africa and then there’s Cape Town), the city seems to be somewhat health conscious and the Neighbourgoods market at The Old Biscuit Mill is a prime example thereof.
I remember visiting the market with a group of my friends from Paarl. I deliberately took my friends from Paarl, because I had hoped that the experience would have a greater impact on them than my friends from Cape Town – and so it did. They were completely mesmerised by the degree of hipster atmosphere. It is stereotypical that hipsters flock to healthy food and vegetarian hot spots such as, the Neighbourgoods market. Of course, the Neighbourgoods market caters for everyone, vegetarian or not, health-eater or not, you are guaranteed to be satisfied by the delicious foods and beverages that the market has to offer.
One of the common dishes for the zef nation at the market is of course, sushi. Sushi use to be a high-end dish for people residing outside of Asia. All classes in Asia have been consuming Sushi as a staple food (it contains rice) for many decades. It is somewhat interesting to see how foods like, Sushi, is perceived so differently in different parts in the world.
The Halal Factor
A formal definition of the word Halal is: denoting or relating to meat prepared as prescribed by Muslim law.
The law of Halal is much more complex than the slaughtering of the animal. For example, as soon as a restaurant serves alcohol, the meats provided by the restaurant become none-halal, despite the manner in which the animal was slaughtered. Moreover, Muslims believe that any food sourced from the ocean is deemed Halal. So, for those Muslims who are keen on having a bite of Sushi at the Neighbourgoods market, by all means, knock yourselves out.
The Neighbourgoods market consists of an array of food stalls. Not all of those food stalls are certified halal. However, I have experienced some gourmet halal dishes at the Neighbourgoods market such as, popular savouries, steak pies and waffles. There is a mythical tale amongst non-Muslims, where they say that halal food is the best food.
Overall, most of the food at the Neighbourgoods market is halal because, it is organic. Organic foods are generally halal in its raw form so, it depends on how the food has been processed to achieve the final dish.
What Stood Out for Me
At The Old Biscuit Mill, you will usually find characters that are into art and design. People who operate within the design and art industry is usually fun people…and that is exactly what the atmosphere at the Neighbourgoods market is like – fun.
A group of three tourists from Columbia came over to us while we were enjoying a meal at the market. They were fascinated by the Afrikaans language as they heard us speaking. We shared our cultures and religion too, which was nice because, we were enjoying a meal, we met new friends and we learnt about different cultures and religions at a single spot. I would definitely recommend anyone to go to the Neighbourgoods market and experience it.
Certainly, we all are familiar with one or other Disney kid star that evolved from being a blameless toddler, to a foolish iconoclast adolescent, in an instant. At least, this is how society classifies this precise occurrence.
According to chegg.com, in psychology, a psychodynamic theory is a view that explains personality in terms of conscious and unconscious forces, such as unconscious desires and beliefs. How is it that Disney actors seem to have similar conscious and unconscious forces? Being in the same sphere of acting and interacting with each other on a daily basis, they are likely to unconsciously follow a mutual traditional belief and develop similar desires.
I cannot help but wonder whether this is an image of propaganda created by television as means of sensation because, senseless behaviour in fact, draws more attention than subtle (or boring) behaviour. According to Phillip Hodson, fellow of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, their behaviour is more to do with modern celebrity culture, which, he says, “is about adolescents who haven’t really grown up, who haven’t got a life”. On the other hand, it is irrational to think that the same fate settling on so many young Disney stars, is a coincidence.
Conspiracy theorists dubbed the Disney domain as a dark entity who deliberately
shakeitup.wikia.com- Selena Gomez
manufactures these off beam youngsters, which now has become clichéd. Others diverge from this ideology as a result of the media portraying Disney for taking lawful steps against their actors who behave sinfully. What’s the cause of these Disney actors rebelling against the general stance of morals? Well, it is sensible to argue that a sinful reputation illuminates an average artist. Others purely view this bad conduct as ‘slutty’.
metalsucks.net – Miley Cyrus
Let’s scan through some of these turned-out rebellious Disney actors… Selena Gomez, she crossed that line when starring in the move, Springbreakers. After her discourteous role in this movie, the general public’s perception of her changed drastically. And if there were any doubt after this, she sealed her fate after releasing her single ‘Come and Get It’ where she openly invites men to- well, come and get it.
This Disney star radically diverted the path after releasing songs with titles such as ‘Wrecking Ball’ and ‘Can’t Be Tamed’ – Miley Cyrus. She caused a global phenomenon by amplifying the radical dance of Twerking, a dance verging on sexual connotations. Her new established, immoral dress code and song lyrics such as ‘…and everyone in line in the bathroom trying to
aimworkout.com – Vanessa Hudgens
get aligned in the bathroom’ with reference to doing cocaine, sparked a completely new perception of her, not from her fans but, from their guardians. Now, her fans continue to praise her, if not more, as a result of media being the mirror to most youngsters. This Disney star shattered her Hannah Montana image overnight and successfully accentuated her character as a powerhouse in the entertainment industry. The psychodynamics behind this seems to be customary in Disney Land.
Another springbreaker, Vanessa Hudgens swayed safe mode after naked images of her leaked onto the internet. She could have attempted to redeem herself but instead, used this as a gateway to escalate. Why? For the same reason her co-stars did it, of course. After this
disney.wikia.com- Elsa
drastic turn of events, she landed a role as a sex-worker in Frozen Ground, where she rendered her finest performance as an actress. Could this have been a positive curve in her career? Surely, it is contingent on how she prefers to be perceived. One thing I’ve noted, it seems these Disney stars disregard their Disney days and prefer being remembered for the new repute they moulded for themselves.
What about the Disney animated characters created by Pixar? Merida in Brave, voiced by Kelly Macdonald, evolves into a freethinker, going against princess virtues and disappointing her King father. This is clearly stated on the DisneyWiki webpage where her personality is
described as: untruly, kind, free-spirited, defiant, headstrong, wilful, brave, adventurous, rebellious, tomboyish, tough, strong-willed, short-tempered, quick-witted and determined. ..Or Queen Elsa in Frozen, voiced by Georgina Haig. Although her personality speak wonders, her dress code transitions from covered-up granny-like to exposed sex-appeal. These traits are identical to those of the above mentioned Disney stars. It is arduous to comprehend that Disney did not mould these characters this way intentionally.
Just last year, Disney star, Lee Thompson Young, who was well-known for his leading role in The Famous Jett Jackson, was found
dead in his apartment. It is said he committed suicide through a self-imposed gunshot. What could possibly have propelled this 29 year old Disney actor to suicide? Are Disney stars not always happy and stress-free (as we see them in the media)? These are the type of questions pulsating in the minds of the fan-base when news of this sort becomes known.
Countering the previously stated, not all Disney stars went astray. Raven- Symoné from That’s so Raven today, is an equal rights activist and Emily Osment from Hannah Montana
won an award for her role in Cyber Bullying. These occurrences in Disney are of the minority and in the 21st century, we all know…majority rules. It is safe to say that the media failed to penetrate the message of the positive products of Disney.
stealherstyle.net – Emily Osment
It is believed that the conscious mind is forever in conflict with the unconscious drive. If we look at where these Disney actors are today, we’d say, Disney is the ideal stepping-stone into the industry. However, the media is persistently concentrated on them so they feel pressurised to sustain this persona, causing them to spiral. At the same time, the fan-base has its eyes locked on them (through the media), causing the fans too, to diverge from their native personae, resulting in a chained reaction.
Ultimately, it is virtually an irresolvable task to juggle between what the media depicts of Disney, the authenticity thereof and at the same time, conserving your own moral order.
Sometime during my high school years, I was introduced to a video website called, YouTube, by a friend. I checked it out and on the home page of this vivacious looking website there was a link to a video called ‘pogo stick tricks’. I clicked on the link and a gateway to a new world opened for me…
I was mesmerised by these American teenagers on the video, pogoing up stairs and on flat surfaces, doing back-flips and all sorts of crazy stunts. It looked relatively easy to master and I knew I had to get one, someday. As time went on, I became obsessed with watching these pogo videos.
I’m from Paarl. People from this valley do not get out much. Watching someone bouncing in circles on a pogo stick, is very hypnotic to us. You know, ever since that time, I knew I had to get a pogo stick but, I never really made an effort to get one… until last holiday, when I stumbled upon a medium sized one on the sale table at a game store. When I held that cold steel pole in my hand, I thought to myself, ‘Ra-ees, this is the moment you’ve been waiting for, since you saw that very first pogo video online’. I admit, the only reason why I purchased it was, because it was rare in my valley and because it was on the sale table.
When I got home, I immediately attempted to pogo in my room. At first, I could hardly get myself to bring both my feet on the pedals. I banged into my cupboards a few times and eventually I was pogoing, successfully on one spot. Then, I decided to take this experience outside where there were steps involved. On my first attempt to hopping up a small step, my left foot slipped off the pedal and the left handle rammed right into my womb raider…and you can imagine, all the neighbours was present to watch the boy with the outlandish toy.
Never have I experienced instant pain like that before. I couldn’t care less about composing myself for the audience. I screamed my lungs out in agony, while everyone around me had a great laugh… Well, at least my pogo stick was ok.
As part of the Ramadaan programme, the Paarl Islamic Youth Movement (P.I.Y.M) affiliates, congregates every Saturday afternoon to educate themselves by discussing designated subject matters- as well as, executing operations of charity to uplift the community of Paarl.
On Saturday 12 July 2014, the seminar opened with Sheikh Zareer Moerat (Imam of Paarl) rendering the opening statement where he quoted verses from the holy Quran and provided in-depth clarifications thereof, in quest of motivating the youth. He also provided general advice for young people through his acquired wisdom.
The presiding officer of the seminar, Abdul Jabbaar Mookadam, then provided an overall description of what these seminars would be about and the purpose of them: “This is a platform given for Paarls’ Muslim youth to discuss topics, which are usually refrained from due to shyness. Through this, their confidence is given a boost and the awareness of the youth is being maintained.” Thereafter, a moving performance was given by Wellington’s youth qaseda group.
The first speaker, Ebrahim Mookadam, an 8th grader, put forth what the Quran mean to us, what it can do for us and the power thereof. He provided a profound metaphorical comparison of the holy Quran with a basket, stating that – when water is poured into a basket and exits through the openings within the basket, the water continues to cleanse the basket from the inside, such is our hearts and bodies cleansed when words of the holy Quran flows through it .
The second speaker, Iman Saban, an 11th grader, deliberated on how we should honour our parents and what Islam states about ‘parents’. She provided a fascinating statistic: “When searching for ‘Kindness towards parents’, six of the first ten results on Google are Islamic related articles.” She also said a short prayer for her parents, asking Allah (God) to have mercy on them as they had mercy on her when she was younger.
The seminar was concluded by Fierdouz Badroodien, articulating the vote of thanks and Hafiz Omar Cook making the closing du’a (prayer).
After the seminar, the group rendered their due of charity work to the community by distributing loaves of bread and french-polony in less-fortunate areas in Paarl such as, Chicargo, Groenheuwel and Lantana.
According to Franscois van Zyl, Shrien Dewani’s medical condition has improved and he’s been fully cooperative. However, he is unable to concentrate for longer than a projected period of 30 minutes and requires more time at Valkenberg Hospital in Cape Town.
As a result of this and the need for more medical attention, the state and the defence team came to an agreement prior to today’s hearing and requested the hearing be postponed to 20 June 2014.
Judge President Hlophe granted the request and comically uttered, “That was a short walk to freedom” as he departed the courtroom.
” The ANC has failed people on the delivery of jobs. Jobs cannot be for the people who are connected to the ANC” – Mmusi Maimane (DA Gauteng, Premier Candidate)
It misrepresents the position of the opposing side in such a way that the opposition appears ridiculous.
The above quote by Maimane is paradoxical.
There are many people in South Africa that are not connected to the ANC in any way, who are employed.
The ANC did not fail ‘people’ on the delivery of jobs. The premier candidate, making this statement is employed and he is not connected to the ANC.
The quote is very contradictory. If the ANC failed people on the delivery of jobs, where would the jobs come from for people who are connected to the ANC?
The word ‘people’ in the context of the first sentence only, refer to the entire nation, but the entire nation is not unemployed.
The second statement declares that, everyone connected to the ANC should be unemployed, which means the ANC would seize to exist for this to be true. It is illogical.
The quote by Maimane also suggests that jobs are reserved for those connected to the ANC. This is untrue. There are people in this country seeking employment and finding it, who are not connected to the ANC.
The DA is the official opposition political party of the ANC. The statement has been made by a DA member to disrepute the ANC and to empower his own
HABITUALLY, the ‘brown-skinned’ nation of South Africa is frequently ‘unpleasantly’ depicted through mass-communication in the country. The performing arts industry of SA, at most times, propel coloured actors, performers, and artists into scrawny roles, or repeatedly render them as ‘illicit gang affiliates’ and remunerate them, a minimum wage. These are the sights voiced by; producer, actor, filmmaker, director and activist, Ruben Engel.
Born in Elsies-River and raised in Lansdowne, Cape Town, Ruben Engel grew very fond of his own kind, which he now believes; is disheartened by the media of the country. At the age of 31, retaining a triple major, Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre making, Media Studies and Drama from the University of Cape Town, where he graduated in 2005, he opted his time into cultivating a virtuous identity for coloured ethnicity in SA media. He is a prominent public-figure in the community, primarily because he took a licking of the Mr SA title in 2009, where he was topped runner-up, and heretofore starred in the SABC1 drama series, ‘Montana’ as ‘Winston Phillips’.
To denote the attainment of elevating the coloured nation within the media industry of the country, the ethnic faction initially, have to concede the aid from imperial bodies, conducting these types of efforts for coloured people in the media industry of SA. The encouragement from the group itself is obligatory, to create a self sustaining, coloured enthused media industry of SA.
Added employment opportunities for coloureds are indispensable in SA media, but the group demand roles and positions of refined calibre, which is pitilessly earmarked for the whites and blacks of the country. This is one of the tactics, which is conceivable to modify the social engineering of the brutal yesteryear of SA, and foster a coloured governing media industry. If, by calculated chance, the coloured nation acquire the positions and roles, which they demand, not only in the media circle, but in other segments of the country, corruption would be inevitable amongst them, and this should be adequate. They are entitled to the identical treatment, which are grasped by the whites and blacks in high ranking positions of the present.
Ruben conveys his disenchantment, by the way in which the SABC3 TV series, Isidingo, go about depicting the coloured nation. Those enacting these roles are coloured actors needing to generate income in a country where there are limited, honourable roles available to the group.
Stimulated by faith, inspired by Soli Philander, and having David Isaacs as his mentor, he is most certain that a coloured enthused media industry appears to be promising for the country. He bluntly articulates his admiration towards Philander by enunciating, “What Oprah done for Obama, Soli is busy doing for me”. He declares that Philander is one of the minorities of coloured personalities who paid his dues in top SA media.
‘Joe’s Barber’ made history, and is legendary in the Baxter Theatre. However, the muteness of it remains, as a result of coloured triumph being curbed in SA.
Source: Ruben Engel
In the article ‘The Coloured Social Genocide’ of 3 May 2012, written by Ruben Engel for baydu.co.za; he says “There is indeed still a lot of work to do in discovering our common humanity, our common identity, away from the linguistic differences, exploited by the perpetrators of ‘Apartheid.’ The question is: how do we unmake the differences caused by our racist past?”
Ruben swanks the attainment of two successful shows, ‘Taxi Vision’ and ‘Vanity Case’, which are both in their fifth season, where he is the technical director and producer, and Philander being the creative producer. Taxi Vision airs Wednesdays at 18:00, and Vanity Case airs Thursdays at 18:30 on CTV, channel 263.
Justice System spokesman, Mthunzi Mhaga says that the state paid nearly R3m to transport Shrien Dewani in a charted plane from Bristol Airport in the UK to Cape Town. Reasons given for the private transportation was linked to previous suicidal tendencies by Dewani and also to closely monitor his health. Dewani is scheduled to appear in court on 12 May, facing charges, namely: robbery, conspiracy to murder and murder on his wife, Anni Dewani.
Former times, the standard man was not burdened with the need to have an immaculate garbed exterior. However, the domain of fashion for men revolutionised from being ‘immaterial’ in the past, to ‘competitive’ at present.
Although men’s vintage wear is contemporary, earlier periods it surfaced as ‘masculine’, predominantly because of men’s physical manifestation in the past. Though, up till now, men have fashioned their physical appearance to a more subtle one. Merged with vintage wear, modern men come out suave. This guise is alluring to most beings, for it instigates the notion of a ‘metro man’… the finest fashion to making a profound impression in the 21st century and before.
Photo Source: designscene.net
Evidently, men’s vintage fashion is enduring, for it thrives in this space and afore. Envisioning the future, men’s vintage fashion will not perish rapidly; maybe it won’t succumb at all. Vintage fashion is distinct, timeless and scenic. It does not surface in the arbitrary ‘fashion cycle’ of ‘what’s in and what’s out.’ It is here continually.
Habitually, vintage garments are fashioned in a number of off-colours such as grey, brown, black, bottle-green and claret. Tacks and fabrics such as denim, leather, cotton, suede, knitwear, herringbone patterns in twill fabric and cable knitting, are fundamental factors of vintage clothing. Above and beyond the first-class look it portrays, the craft that goes into creating modern vintage clothing, brands it.
Men can achieve the ‘vintage look’ effortlessly by merely incorporating one or more of the elected off-colours into their modern garments. Also, enhance the look by adding a knitted jersey, a chino-trouser or a knitted hat. A herringbone-blazer is an alternative to complement the look you’re hoping to accomplish. Note that these are all add-ons to you, already garbed-up.
While every other man in this world is competing to be fashionably sovereign, clothe yourself in vintage wear, modestly and stride this planet as if you hold it.
one of his retweets, which contained a catchy phrase, “The Best of Everything in South Africa. Oflocal.co.za”.
what sets it apart from other basic directories. It benefits the web-surfer by saving him/her time (and data charges) and the listed businesses greatly, as it grant the listed businesses access to new possible business leads.
psychedmedia.wordpress.com 