I may not have the beach, but at least I have Beatenberg

With the dust having settled over Mangaung, spending the weekend in a newsroom has been pretty boring. I've been listening to a bit of Beatenberg, a sweet little pop band from Cape Town. They're making me wish that I was part of the mass of migrating Gautengers who are enjoying their holidays at the sea. I can't wait for the chance to haul out my summer dresses and slops and spend the day on the beach, slathering on sunscreen to avoid looking more and more like a lobster (alas, I wasn't blessed with the olive skin Greek genes). If you are sojourning at the sea, I do hope you are having a marvelous time. If you're stuck at home, listen to some Beatenberg and you'll feel like you're there in a minute. Promise.

Where to find Beatenburg:
Twitter:@Beatenberg_Band
Facebook
Soundcloud

Enlist now: The Rebel Alliance needs you

Illustrator Ant Lucia did these really cool Princess Leia propaganda pin-ups. Who needs convincing to join the Rebel Alliance anyway?

Joburg City #1: The Good Luck Club

I've never lived anywhere other than Pretoria. It's perhaps the reason why I have always had a bit of a love/ hate relationship with dear ol' P-Town. Even though I'll always call it home, it's always struck me as a big city with a stifling small town mentality.  That's why my brief sojourn in Joburg while interning at the SABC has been quite the adventure. The traffic drives me batty but there's something enthralling about finding yourself in a new city. Joburg, with it's palpable verve and colourful cosmopolitan culture, has grown on me so much that I find myself entertaining the idea of moving there when I'm done with Honours next year. I may be married to Pretoria, but Joburg is my lusty lover.  Until then, I'll be sharing a few of the places I've discovered on my escapades through Jozi every so often.

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Corlett Drive in Illovo became somewhat of a hipster-haven after Shane and Angie Durrant opened Wolves, and later The Good Luck Club. Christi and I, along with our mutual new-found love for spicy food, went to see what all the hype around The Good Luck Club was about. Christi had the Chicken & Pineapple Curry, while I had the 5-Spice Tofu Stirfry. It was one of the few times I've had tofu that doesn't taste like rubber. Well done, Shane and Angie, well done. I'll be back for more soon soon, promise. 

Hello again

Jeez, I haven't posted anything for ages. So much has happened in the last two or so weeks. I started and finished writing exams, which was pretty tortuous, especially when you haven't read any of the semester's English literature beforehand. I also started an internship at the Digital News department at the SABC, which means that I have sort of moved to Joburg for the month that I am there. I say sort of because I come home on my days off. I haven't had the time, internet connection or the inclination for that matter to update Are You Charlie? but fear not, a flood of posts are on the way. Soonish.

Beast releases 'Smoke Swig Swear'

Beast have released "Smoke Swig Swear", a little taste of what's to come when they release their debut album in January 2013. I can just picture Inge Beckmann brooding through town in her Doc Martins with a cigarette in her mouth and a bottle of something potent like gin in her hand, spitting out profanities at anyone who gets in her way. The best part is that she won't give a damn about any of it. Ah, it's just brilliant. I can't wait to hear the rest of the album. Roll on 2013.

• Catch Beast at Brickfields Fest in Jozi this Saturday. I'll be at a wedding. Jealous.

Waldo The Movie. No, not really.

I remember plowing through Where's Wally? books with my cousins every Saturday when we went for lunch to my grandparents in Joburg. There's no storyline to Where's Wally? so it's no surprise that it hasn't been made into a film yet. That's where the genius of Alex Goyette lies though. He's written, directed, produced and starred in (he's Waldo) a mock action trailer parodying the book series by Martin Handford. After seeing the mock trailer I'm convinced that someone has to do Wally justice and make a movie out of his non-story. And it should star Alex Goyette too. He's quite on the eyes. Pretty please?

Lucy Kruger- Heart of Stone (Official Video)

 

Lucy Kruger has released her music video for "Heart of Stone", taken off her debut album Cut Those Strings. You can read the review I wrote on her album over here.