Pap n' Vleis

Now just to get this bit out the way. .. . I know that I was wrong in doing so. My mother taught me years ago that theft, big or small, is bad. Thus dear reader it is not without some level of guilt that begin this post chronicling my rather shameful pillaging of that beloved student hangout, The Rat and Parrot.

That familiar smell of spilled beer and Peter Stuyvesant cigarettes wafts through the cold October evening and settles nicely at the table at which I find myself. I don’t frequent the Rat that often because the drinks are generally overpriced and you can usually not here a word your significant other has to say. We order a couple of drinks and get drinking.

And then I see it.

Its right there.

You know how supposedly when you see your true love time stops, and the world stops spinning but you still keep moving? Well, I don’t suppose you do, but anyway, that’s how it feels for me. I see the most beautiful Heineken drinks tray I have ever seen in all my born. It’s glowing and hallelujah choirs start singing and it’s almost as if moon shimmying off its beautiful metal. The waiter just leaves it there, all by its lonesome.

I know that I have to have it. My friends are still cracking away and I realise that this is going to have to be a one man job. I start in a crouching position stalking it as if it were some helpless buck and I am the lion who is about to get lunch. I swoop it up and start walking calmly towards the door.

Suddenly I feel a tap on my shoulder it’s the waiter.

“Sorry mate, I think you forgot your wallet” he smiles.

I turn around keeping the tray away from him and walk thank him for the wallet and made sure I get the hell out of Dodge. Condensation floats of my breath as I get outside. I see my friends leaving in a Toyota Yaris and break out into a run…..

I hope you have enjoyed Pap and Vleis.

Till next time.

Cheers.

One blistering hot Friday afternoon , a spontaneous decision was made to go to Port Alfred beach. Five friends set on an unforgettable journey for the day. We played assorted road trip theme songs, got into deep conversations about life and spilt chocolate ice cream all over.

2pm was the time of arrival and that is when the true fun began. Being the sporty group we are, rugby, soccer and tennis balls were of vital importance. we played a thrilling game of beach cricket, kicked the rugby ball at eachother and rode what we could of the blood curdling, icy waves.

Seeing as the Rhodes pool was closed for maintenance, our group was joined by many more and the day seemed like an endless re run of "SummerBreak", one stop at picknpay for pre-drinks and perhaps a jam doughnut or two, would make our day complete.

Just shows what R15,00 each for petrol, a mate with a car and a group of friends who have nothing better to do; can get upto when not confronted by the stress of academics.

By David Shields

By David Shields

Some of it is about as exciting as a 7de laan omnibus. wanna know what I'm talking about?Check out http://papnvleis.blogspot.com/

Although the name is somewhat stupid, as it doesn’t make any sense, this blog might still be worth your time. For my review I have chosen to review a particularly interesting little number called www.pleasenotethefollowing.com (PNTF for short).

This blog presumably engages in issues that concern 1^st year Rhodents and more specifically 1^st year Journalism students.

The blog is very easy to navigate and the writing is succinct and easy to understand without being unstimulating. The writing of one Zan is particularly entertaining as it makes even the somewhat unexciting subject of Converse takkies enjoyable. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for other contributors.

The quality of the blog can be a bit patchy in places. A post about something as exciting as Skins is one of my favourite TV shows is followed by a weak post discussing the merits of going to lectures.

Another problem is that the site lacks …. Oh I don’t know…. sparkle, je ne se quoi, pizzazz? The blog’s layout does feel as bland as a 7de Laan Omnibus. There isn’t a lot to occupy the reader other than the content of the various bloggers. Some more photos or graphic design or a link to some other websites would have been appreciated.

PNTF definitely has potential all they need is some help to sparkle up their appearance and to give Zan more of the stage and this could still be an interesting product.

Overall I give it 2 out of 5 Bowls of Pap.

by Tanya

TanyaHirst #RUBLOGS Savage Beauty...fun with fear. http://papnvleis.blogspot.com/

A random opportunity presented itself to me not too long ago...I was invited by one of my best friends to the quarry just beyond the campus fence. The idea sounded like a lot of fun and a new experience is always welcome.

With the wind blowing like I have never seen it do in Grahamstown, we missioned out of the electric gate behind Cullen Bowles House and out into the open veld. It was freezing, but the walk got some blood flowing and my toes slowly regained consciousness. Upon arriving at the huge gaping hole in the ground that is the quarry, I suddenly remembered why I am (selectively) afraid of heights...nothing to strap you in, nothing to prevent you from falling...splat. Not cool. Aside from the fear itself, the wind was vicious in its attempts to blow anything and everything off the top of the cliff, including me. Therefore, the climb down onto the ledge overhanging the gorge below proved to be a rather challenging feat, luckily, my friend had been to the quarry before and was there to help me out, or actually make sure my feet stayed on solid ground.

The experience is not one that I am likely to repeat anytime soon, the climb was both extremely frightening and brilliant all at the same time. Sitting out in the complete silence was something rarely found in Res or around campus, so it was pretty amazing to look out into the open pit while sheltered by the surrounding rocks as the wind attempted to rip the surroundings from the ground...savagely beautiful. There is nothing better than spending time with someone out in a completely neutral space, not having to say a word and still feeling like there is so much being said, especially since this friend and I had been fighting for a few weeks prior to the visit to the quarry. It was intense to see the damage done by whoever had mined the land to leave the quarry but at the same time, it was much appreciated as a place of total retreat for the random soul.

by Tanya

TanyaHirst #RUBLOGS Some Pretty awesome Bloggin' at http://rhodesfoureyes.blogs..., check it out.

The blog I chose to review was Four Eyes, (by Simone Redelinghuys, Graham Ziervogel, Ross Bosman and Bradley Southin) and it was one of the more fascinating, random blogs that I found in my search for the most appealing blog to review.

I found the blog to be appropriate to the theme of a student blog with its random assessments of various topics that would interest students. The idea of the group being composed of 3 males and one female made it come across as a struggle between ideas that actually came together in a complementary form in the end. I particularly enjoyed the post: “What an arb name, and what a weird read”, it was humorous while still remaining informative in its main agenda.

The group was particularly pedantic about tweeting. Their tweets remained to the point while still conveying the message in full. This was appealing in that it made the blog more available in terms of possible readers who might find them on Twitter. I personally hate the idea of Twitter, I believe it is a retarded version of the Facebook status, but since seeing twitter in action, it has proved somewhat less useless to me.

In conclusion, the blog remains to be one of the more interesting and vibrant reads of the semester and the group has compiled a decent selection of ideas in new and humorous ways.

#rublogs what i got up to before swot week. www.papnvleis.blogspot.com/

After weeks of non stop essays, assignments, tutorial readings and tests; the workload finally started to get less and less. This year seems to have been a short one, it feels like it was only yesterday when I was on Prince Alfred Street at the SRC/RMR Street Party shaking my tail feather waiting in anticipation for the year to start. I must admit, University is not what I expected at all. So when the opportunity came about for my two friends and I to join my brother on a one-night-only adventure to Port Alfred, I jumped at the chance of spending the day and evening with good people, eating good food and drinking good wine. So we abandoned all lectures, tutorials and delicious meals at the dinning hall and headed to Port Alfred. One of my friends that joined us in this adventure is from Cape Town and had not been to Port Alfred so in the car there were many stories of what to expect and past experiences of the beautiful town.

I had not been in Port Alfred in many years. Growing up, we would take family holidays at a resort called Fish River Sun. We went there just to see if the place looked the same but I could not remember anything from my childhood from there. We spent the whole day and evening on the deck and pool of a hotel eating, smoking and drinking listening to good music.

The break was exactly what I needed before swot week and exams.

AND THE WINNER IS…
http://therhodentssliceofcheese.blogspot.com/
The name caught my eye. An appropriate name that describes the students at Rhodes and the slice of cheese is the student’s opinion on the topics being discussed. It is an original and well thought of name for Rhodes students Journalism Blog. When I clicked on the link a funky background came up with different colour circles and I could tell it was young students with bright ideas and an idea of what they want their blog to portray. Although the background has nothing to do with rhodents or cheese it still attracts the attention of the reader. The problem with the blog is that the students have not put any personal details or pictures of themselves so that we know what the blogger looks like, it would be nice to put a face to the blog that is written by the person. “Therhodentssliceofcheese” compared to “A montage of a different sort” is aimed at students, whereas “a montage of a different sort” has a lot going on in the background that takes the focus off the articles on the blog and the name also does not correspond with the journalism blogging idea. “A montage of a different sort” seems very busy and jumbled, and once I clicked the link and the page came up I was not interested in reading any of the articles because it did not appeal to me.
Tweet:
Latest: #rublogs what attracts you to a blog? its got to be hip and funky. why? because im still young! http://therhodentssliceofch
Tamaryn Olsson

After one long term of non-stop deadlines and blogging for journ we finally got a break to do something entertaining and fun. I pondered and considered the one thing that would make me feel free and happy, and then it hit me, when I was younger I used to love swinging on the rope that hung from the huge oak tree at the Vaal River. I remembered the swing at Grey Dam and I knew it was my calling. I got into the car at 4:30pm on Tuesday and drove to Grey Dam feeling excited to swing again for the first time in ages. As I grabbed the rope to swing a feeling of exhilaration and fear ran through me. “There is nothing to it” I thought to myself, so I pushed off and the next thing I knew I was flying over the dam with the wind blowing through my hair and it was magic. As I started coming back to earth I realised that the tree was much closer than I anticipated and BANG I hit into it and that was the end of my swinging, but the seconds of feeling free were worth the fall.
Tweet:
Latest: #rublogs i relived a memory, the feeling of freedom and excitement running through my body, but im not a tree hugger!l
Tamaryn Olsson

#rublogs Tired of spending your life in a line with folks you wouldn't want to touch with a disinfected pole? http://papnvleis.blogspot.com/

It is commonly understood that at some point people want to partake in the economy and that this need often corresponds chronologically with other people needs.

Hence we are introduced to queues. I know that it is self centred and narcisstic to assume that the whole world has to move aside just so that don’t have to wait 5 minutes to get a packet of Doritos, but here’s my problem: Why is it that whenever it is the busiest time of the day, that stores decide to send their employees on a tea-break? All you want to do is pop in, get the things you need, and boom, you are faced with a queue that resembles the ones you find outside of the ladies bathroom at Friar’s.

Although we can’t stop queuing, it can be made to be bearable. Why don’t businesses present magazines while you’re in the store, this way, although you are still stuck in a queue it won’t be a complete waste of time and you might even learn something in the process. A brave but I believe potentially lucrative solution would also be to provide customers with a discount for every minute they wait over an allotted time period. Productivity would increase and I am sure that the store will make back the money they have lost in no time flat.

I don’t know maybe it’s just me but if stores would just consider these two options, perhaps queuing won’t have to ruin our days anymore.

#rublogs still smoking like a chimney?Soon you will be slapped with a R500 fine. Blog www.papnvleis.blogspot.com/

Parliament agreed on a new law on the 17 September 2007, this law has been a long time coming. The legislation will make it harder for smokers to smoke in public areas, in their cars and homes. This law should have been passed a long time ago as there are over 4000 chemicals in second-hand smoke, 200 of these known to be poisonous. This law finally been passed after two years.

What infuriates me the most are adults who smoke in a car with a toddler strapped to his or her car seat with the windows rolled down, as if that will make a difference. I find these adults irrisponsible and are to be blamed for asthma and respiratory problems with their children. Children who are exposed to second-hand smoke are more likely to suffer from dental cavities, eye and nose irritation and irritability.

A fine of R500 will be handed over to anyone who violates the law and employers who do not protect their non-smoking employees from the workplace will be slapped with a fine of R10000. This law prohibits smoking in a private dwelling used for childcare, tutoring or schooling, and in any car transporting a child younger than 12.

In University institutions like Rhodes University, where smoking is as common as brushing your teeth, I find it hard to believe that this law will be effective. The main reason for this law is the high rate of deaths related to smoking in this country which is double the numbers of deaths on the road.

Would you like to know a secret?
Where is the one place you can go to stalk celebrities, or anyone in fact, and find out where they are, what they are doing and who they are with? I will tell you where, Twitter. Yes it is that easy, just log on to Twitter and you can find out all there is to know about anyone and everyone. Some people might find it a waste of time to let the rest of the world know their every move but others prefer to tell everyone when they have just woken up or have gone to the toilet. Personally Twitter frustrates the living daylights out of me because I do not want people following me and I could not be bothered with following people, but unfortunately I have no choice in the matter as a journalism student. In a way Twitter is a great way to tell a person what you think of them without having to confront them face to face but when it comes to personal and soppy stuff then rather keep it to yourself. Another problem with Twitter is that it limits one to the amount of words one can say, and what happens when I have something more to say than 250 words? Then I can’t fully express myself and that violates my freedom of speech. If you are one that loves for people to know your personal experiences and secrets then do not delay, start tweeting today.
Tamaryn Olsson

Tanya

TanyaHirst #RUBLOGS Anal inter-visiting rules...what is the big deal?...check out http://papnvleis.blogspot.com/

There has always been something that has bothered me about inter-visiting between male and female residences. We, as ladies, have to sign our male guests in when they arrive, and out when they leave (which has to be before the clock strikes midnight). Sure, it’s a way of protecting the interests of all the ladies residing in the particular house...but let’s be honest, the system is flawed in many ways. In my opinion, it acts as a polite way to stereotype any male visitor to a ladies residence, labelling them as potentially dangerous. What about the ladies that visit each other? Are they not dangerous, if not more so than the males because they could go unnoticed? Secondly, I would never befriend a potentially dangerous male (or female) let alone allow them into my space! If we as individuals cannot be trusted, then how is the system supposed to function in the first place?

If it were to work properly, the male (or female) candidates should be interviewed by the house warden and “approved” for entrance into the res, no matter what the hour, as long as the lady (the resident) takes full responsibility for his/her actions and is willing to keep a watchful eye on him/her at all times. That way, there would be more emphasis on the type of individual who is trusted and the trust that the resident places in the friend that he/she allows into their space and the space of fellow residents.

Tanya Hirst

TanyaHirst #RUBLOGS Read as Agliotti reveals all in Selebi trial, discussed, disected at http://papnvleis.blogspot.com/

“Agliotti unravels” reads the news headline from the Sunday Times retrieved on 16/10/09 at
http://www.timeslive.co.za/sundaytimes/article145741.ece. The headline already grabs the readers’ attention with its concise yet provocative wording. The article deals with the newly added evidence to the Selebi trial, in the form of a video recording of an interview with druglord and murderer, Glenn Agliotti, who was a former friend of Selebi. The article reveals all the relevant details regarding the trial and those involved, drawing attention to the afore mentioned details in previous articles so that even a new follower is able to catch on without having to backtrack for information. The report is decent in that it provokes the reader to continue following the Selebi trial and the Sunday Times website makes it easy to do so. A similar article found on The Mail and Guardian website, retrieved at http://www.mg.co.za/article/2009-10-06-agliotti-takes-stand-at-selebi-trial, on 16/10/09 provide similar analyses of the trial along with information that will allow new readers to follow the case smoothly without having read previous reports. Both articles mentioned are worth reading in that they include direct quotes, important information as to the individual in question as well as ideas that are worth following as the trial progresses instead of providing a bland interpretation of the issue without engaging with the reader.

#rublogs find out which shiny new toys the government is spending $4.5 billion on this time. Blog www.papnvleis.blogspot.com/

Even though this country is going through issues like poverty, unemployment and that the government fails to provide the basic need of adequate housing to the citizens of South Africa, President Jacob Zuma will be spending $4.5 billion on high-tech fighter jets. http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/280527
The government has decided to spend billions on military jets- to protect itself against any possible invasion. South Africa hasn’t been threatened by any terrorist group or been up in arms for many years now, so what exactly is the government protecting itself against? Well I guess its better to be safe then sorry, right? How is that possible when there aren’t enough qualified and capable people to operate them?
In 1999, the government had made decisions to purchase military equipment which would have the price tag of R21.3 billion. Of these military equipment, three submarines from the German Submarine Consortium, which will replace the ageing Daphne submarines, which have been in service in the navy for more than 30 years were bought in 2006 and 2007. http://www.armsdeal-vpo.co.za/special_items/summary/hardware.html. The price tag of these submarines increased by 600% and they have been “rusting” away on Simon’s Town naval dockyard.
Submarines and military jet planes are the last things this country needs right now. When there are urgent issues like HIV and getting people with the HI-Virus the necessary treatment, creating jobs for the unemployed so that other social issues like poverty may be eradicated. South Africa faces many social challenges that require urgent financial attention. Let us pray that in due time government will realise this and act upon it.

#RUBLOGS SA soccer will have a better chance if we get Carlos Santana involved. At least we'll be entertained.http://papnvleis.blogspot.com/

Lincoln van der Westhuizen

The national soccer team’s string of bad results has left a sour taste in the mouths of fans and SAFA executives. This has lead to speculation in the media that Brazilian coach Joel Santana should be fired. Recently Julius Malema has quite unsurprisingly voiced his opinion on the matter. Politics in South African sport, will it ever end?

SAFA boss Kirsten Nematandani receives more media attention than the man whose future is on the line. He basically won the spot has SAFA president on the basis of Santana’s string of bad results. Only recently has Santana spoken about the calls for his head: “I am here to coach Bafana, not get involved in politics” Santana said.

When will politicians realise that politics in sport never works and that it just distracts players form their jobs? Its interesting to me that it is only when a team is faring poorly that politicians gallop in on their green, white and black horses in an attempt to save a team that professionals can’t get the best out of.

This story has now become a chance for any politician (read Malema) to advocate nationalist ideals like: “If we lose, we must lose to one of our own. And if we win, we win with our own”.

No one likes politics in sport but it is something that is here to stay. Let’s just hope that the team starts winning again so that Malema can shimmy off to the periphery of our country’s sporting picture.

Tweet:
#rublogs will South Africa have more people living on the street after free housing is being reconsidered? http://www.news24.com

News Commentary
Free housing
MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela believes that free housing for people should be reconsidered because South Africa is the only country who gives away free houses. The huge unemployment rate means that the employed are supporting the unemployed and that is unfair. “This is not an easy decision to make... But we need to decide: do we continue to do a lot for a few people or do we shift towards a little for many people?” (Madikizela 2009). Madikizela wants to stop the free housing because “South Africa appeared to be the only country in the world that gave people free homes” (Madikizela 2009), but has he ever thought that this might be true because South Africa is a third world country? In many ways this is very unfair. Firstly to the unemployed people who were expecting a house are now going to be disappointed. Secondly it is unfair because how can they give away free houses to some and then not to the rest. Lastly it is unfair from the start to feel sorry for the unemployed and give them free housing when the employed are working extremely hard so that they can build their own homes but all the money is going into taxes to pay for the unemployed. The DA MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela should have thought about the repercussions before he started granting free houses because now, either way, in the end one side of the party is not going to be happy with the decision.

Tamaryn Olsson

By David Shields

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Tanya Hirst

Tamaryn Olsson