Longboarding, also often referred to as downhill skateboarding, has always been around really. It can be traced back to the earliest days of skateboarding. As skateboarding grew, the shortboard form of skating became more popular with skateboarders always trying to come up with more and more technical tricks.

In recent years, there has been a return to longboarding as surfers took to longboarding when there were no waves. Downhill skateboarding is most popular as longboards are more stable for this discipline than their shorter cousins. The sport has evolved so much though that there are many more disciplines of longboarding now. From downhill skating to freeriding, carving, cruising and sliding.

If you are into longboarding, also be sure to check out the forum on the website, forum for longboarding in South Africa. Share the stoke!

Die Antwoord

Die Antwoord is currently a big hit in the USA. I don’t think they know what hit them! Check out this review after their performance at Coachella 2010. I find it quite amazing that people that don’t have any idea of afrikaans or South African culture find them so mind blowing.

Ninja (Waddy Jones and Max Normal), Yolandi Vi$$er and DJ Hi Tek are pure geniuses. Some of the speculation on Die Antwoord just shows that people ‘just don’t get it’. It reminds me a lot of art critics. They’ll take a painting of a flower and try to dissect what the artist was thinking and feeling at the time when in fact the guy was just thinking, ‘Wow, what a pretty flower, lets paint it!’

Ninja and Yolandi (oh and sorry, all cuedos to DJ Hi Tek too) have taken all the bits of South African culture, no matter how crude, threw it in a potjie, cooked it up and got Die Antwoord as a result. No matter how crude the lyrics, the music is awesome and their live performance is definitely ‘something to write home about’. And to think they launched it all over the internet. It’s pure genius!

I can’t help to feel proud to have these guys in our ring. Ninja, Yolandi, DJ Hi Tek, you go boys (and girl)! Enter the flex, access that inner zef and keep making us proud! Show them what South Africa is all about.

Seriously, if any tourists to our beautiful country read this and have any fears, please be at peace. What you hear and see in the media has a lot of hype attached to it. We might have our problems in South Africa, but it is not that bad.

And for those who were wondering. No we also do not have lions, rhinos or giraffe roaming the streets, they are all out in the wild or locked away safely in game reserves!

One thing I must say, please no bad vibes, manners or any mass paranoia allowed, leave those at the airport before boarding.

To put it mildly, it feels like things are on thin ice, as South Africa’s political status as far as race is concerned has never been a very bright one.

But now lets be optimistic and look at the glass half-full instead of half-empty.

We here in South Africa have come a very long way politically. With the release of Nelson Mandela and then him becoming president, there has been a lot of positive change in South Africa. Hey, we’re the “Rainbow Nation” after all. Now with the FIFA World Cup right around the corner, things are really coming to a climax. South Africa is under the looking glass, so to speak.

Is this not our hour of truth. What happens next would determine whether we’ve passed the test and have finally matured as a nation. Someone like Julius Malema who is still clinging to the old racial crap is not a good ambassador for our country, but seeing the reaction from other politicians sure does give a glimmer of hope.

This morning I was invited to a Facebook group called, “Malema, a Love Letter“. This group was started by someone who very clearly looks at the glass half-full. The whole point behind her view is, don’t fight fire with fire, lets douse the fire and educate at the same time. Everyone should write a letter to Julius Malema detailing their hopes and dreams for our nation. It is meant to serve as an eye opener. At the moment everyone is attacking him which clearly is not helping and the only thing it’s good for is to fuel the fire.

The guy is ignorant. He needs to be educated. He is only reacting the way he does due to his ignorance. He does not know better. He is still living in the dark ages of racial divide. It is very clear from his statements and also by a statement made by one of the members of the Facebook group that some black people still go around with the idea in their heads that white people are being brought up to believe they cannot trust black people and that all black people are criminals. This is ridiculous!! And then in the same instance they say that South Africans need to stand together. How can we stand together when this is the crap that are being fed to the ignorant. It’s like the blind leading the blind. It’s a recipe for disaster.

The Facebook group will lead you to this article, Malema, a love letter. There it will give you details on how to publish your letter. Lets show the world that we have stood the test of time and that we have now matured into a true Rainbow Nation.

Now that I have had a chance to stay there for a month, I got a better feel for the place. Besides it’s beauty, which is the first observation, I now had a chance to get a feel for the capetonians. I suddenly realised that they are not the nicest bunch of people in this country. It seems almost everybody is walking around with a chip on their shoulder. And please don’t get me wrong, I met some amazing people there, but they are few and far between. The majority seems to feel they are somehow superior to the rest of humanity. They are unfriendly and unhelpful. This includes the people in the service industry. You’re almost too scared to ask them for any assistance.

So now I’ve been trying to figure out what exactly this is. I recall a lot of stand-up comedians making fun of this. They seem to think it’s because of the mountain. Like, “we’re sooo cool dude, we havva mountain an’ all”. Haha! I have to honestly say, I think this is exactly what it is!! The people living farther away from the city do not seem to suffer from this, just the bunch living in Table Mountain’s shadow.

So I tried to imagine what Cape Town would be like without the mountain. And the answer is, it will just be another city! Just like Jo’burg or some or other polluted, busy place.

Capetonians really need to lighten up. They’re living in one of the world’s most beautiful cities. It reminds me of the saying, ‘Beauty only runs skin deep’.

People this is not a 4 way stop! It does not work like a traffic light either. And NO, it is not first come first serve, neither was it designed for people to show how polite they are by letting other people go first.

To those of you who have legally obtained your licenses and have
actually done the K53, you will remember that you learned that traffic
from the right has right of way. That’s it. It’s that simple.

Come now people. I know it’s been hard with traffic circles and speed
bumps (don’t even get me started on the bloody speed bumps!) going up all over town, but they’re here to stay, deal with it
and learn the rules!

With the 2010 World Cup fever mounting, Google has started mapping the major cities in South Africa. People have been showing interest in experiencing some South African culture first-hand.

So when you come across this vehicle, don’t forget to put on your best smile!

Related article: Google Maps Street View – Port Elizabeth

Fair is not fair anymore. what was fair in the past to try and fix the problem was to give certain individuals the opportunity to rise to the top while holding others back in order to reset the balance. Now however the system is being abused as it is so easy to get what you want if you keep the other party feeling guilty all the time.

If you had to hurt someone, whether by accident or on purpose or even ignorance and later you feel bad about it and apologise, isn’t it unfair of that person to keep taking advantage of you by referring to the incident over and over again?
Isn’t this an infringement on your human rights? You’ve paid your dues, you’ve apologised, now let it go. LET IT GO!
What makes it worse is when that person keeps on taking advantage of the situation even after you have left the earthly abode by referring the generation after you to the injustice which was caused by you. Now that is major infringement on your human rights.

South Africa has a long way to go. Until certain parties can’t let go of their grievances or even better, until such a time as everyone are treated equally (meaning no special favours based on the colour of your skin or the language you speak) the issue will never be resolved. We’ll carry on going in circles. Round and round and round.

Related article on MyPE: Are You Guilty of Human Rights Abuse in PE?

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