The first time I see Henry, he’s tired. He’s carrying a camera case and looks punished. He’s just spent a day in the townships outside Cape Town. His bag is heavy, and he doesn’t want help. This is a theme I’ll get familiar with over the next week. Once a son of the LA Punk […]
John Vlismas
You can follow John on Twitter if you like @fortyshort.
John Vlismas is an increasingly reclusive former hell-raising coke fiend and fall-down drunk. Now a scuba teacher and far better father; he is an award-winning anti-socialite, has played The Royal Albert Hall and has been described as "blunt" but also as "sharp". He has little regard for team sports and his name is very often mispronounced. He is also the co-owner of a company called "Whacked", which does good things for local comedy.
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A report to an asylum
I met Madiba the other day. It’s not a boast (although having one of the Jackson Five behind you in any queue does provide a warm throb) but the meeting provided stark views of how far we’ve come — the chasm twixt us and that golden honeymoon yawns like HIV wearing a kanga. The great […]
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Dear Steve, praat sense of hou jou bek
Unlike you, I struggle to take things lying down. Your dramatic pamphlet is problematic. I’ll elaborate. Firstly, when you need album sales, you become as Afrikaans as you can, then when it suits, you cling to these imagined roots. Last time I checked, yours were blond, big guy. So don’t go double-crossing that bridge, the […]
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Pope Goes the Weasel
It’s about time we had some earthquakes in Rome. The historical home of the fiddle hasn’t had a shake in ages. Global warming may be biggie, and Iran may prove tsunamis to be minor ripples, but the man in the big hat has been bust, he fiddled while kids were razed. I’m comforted to know […]
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Dear reader …
Of course, your opinions are more important than the blog — that’s the whole point. I was going to write something new — but wanted to respond to Maria. It is unfortunate that you feel I used the term “social Down’s Syndrome” in a shallow way to describe stupid. I didn’t. Just because someone has […]
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Eugene and Malema, sitting in a tree…
Right-wingers continue to huddle and mutter about Armageddon. The Youth are supposedly led by a confused victim of social Down’s syndrome, and homosexuality has never had such a bad month. Ricky Martin and ET? Ouch. Obviously, the local crime scene experts have never watched CSI — letting an imaginary condom vanish, and failing to notice […]