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Helen Zille is No Obama

Monday, November 17th, 2008

Excuse me for borrowing some catchphrases like Putting lipstick on a Pig that I used to describe the DA’s newest incarnation, but the US elections are not completely out of my system and we have not yet come up with crazy sayings of our own for our elections.

The memory of the US election is still fresh, seemingly not only for me. Helen Zille and the DA are doing their best to copy the Obama victory path to the very last “Yes, we can”, so I suppose it is fitting to compare the two.

Well actually there is NO comparison.

Helen Zille a lot more Hillary Clinton or John McCain than Barack Obama.

• She is not a fresh-faced politician, regardless of her make-over.
• She comes with baggage and she does not appeal across the political spectrum.
• She appeals to her constituency – mostly former NP and middle class conservative urbanites.
• The DA has no policies of it’s own, it is just anti ANC everything.
• The DA is always right and everyone else is always wrong. Hello, Obama is about building bridges. The DA is about…who knows what besides being anti-ANC.

So to misquote another US election saying: The DA’s usual constituents might be drinking the DA KoolAid, but I would be very surprised if many more than the usual 12% vote DA again.

Posted in politics | 12 Comments »

Quantum of what?

Monday, November 17th, 2008

Reviews for the new James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace hasn’t exactly been glowing.

In spite of critics movie goers have been showing up over the last week worldwide, breaking box office records.

ONE

TWO

THREE

Who cares what Quantum of Solace means? Who needs a story when you have Daniel Craig playing 007?

Posted in movies | No Comments »

Can’t Everyone Just Be Friends?

Sunday, November 16th, 2008

The strangest thing happened to me at the end of last week.

I surfed to my usual news sources and just before I could navigate to the Hillary Clinton’s not so secret visit with her once opponent Barack Obama, another story caught my eye that got my heckles rising.

The Jennifer Aniston, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie story had again flared up again! Imagine that!

For anyone who had been in a coma or in self-imposed isolation at the time here’s the low down.

Around 2005 Brad Pitt started seeing Angie on the movie set Mr and Mrs Smith which they were filming at the time. Brad was married to Jen.

Fast forward through a divorce, a series of rumours, , pictures of Brad with Angie’s adopted children, a biological baby born in Namibia, another adopted baby and twins, Jen recently decided to speak up during an interview in Vanity Fair magazine and later on the Oprah Show.

She said that she though Jolie was ‘uncool’ for discussing the start of her relationship with Aniston’s then husband.

Uncool? I could think of a few choice words.

During and after the affair and subsequent break-up, the world took sides. Half blamed Jen for not wanting to have children, half blamed Angie for mixing it up with a married man and no one blamed Brad, funny thing!

While never thinking Brad Pitt was a catch of any standing and knowing that the publicity for a movie machine is likely at work, I have to admit that I still felt bad for Jennifer. So I was on team Jen.

Maybe it was the Friends fan in me.

What a relief though! After about 6 months of mainly political and tech news, I am finally starting to get my priorities right again – maybe for an hour or so.

Posted in celebrities | No Comments »

Do people not know of Facebook and e-mail?

Sunday, November 16th, 2008

The president elect of the US will in all probability have to give up his beloved Blackberry when he enters the White House in a few weeks time!

I can’t even the imagine that little scenario for myself.

I could sooner imagine myself president of the US than without my phone, since my cellphone is usually either in hand or within reaching distance.

Since I bought my first Nokia N series phone more than a year ago, my life has changed completely. I no longer break into a cold sweat when I have to be away from my computer for a protracted period of time.

Last year our strategic planning wasn’t the painful exercise it was in past years. I was able to check on my auctions and e-mails periodically, while colleagues rehashed the same plans of previous years.

Not too long ago my cellphone rebelled (I think). It refused to accept my Virgin Mobile nor my Vodacom sim cards. I can’t even type, just thinking of those bleak 24 hours. Eventually it just went on and continued as if nothing happened.

It was around the time I was salivating about the iPhone, mind you.

In years gone by having my cellphone was for SMSing and calling friends, now I use it primarily for internet. Oh the irritation when a message comes through to disturb my work flow.

Do people not know of Facebook and e-mail?

Posted in technology | No Comments »