Iain Harris music Early in 1997, rock funk trio Boomslang had axed its vocalist and was shedding its skin for something newer and fresher, looking to reinvent itself in a funkier and more experimental coat. DJ Bonanza Clone, aka Adam Lieber, and MC Ultra Berzerk, aka Denver, came into the mix, adding spoken word, turntables, […]

Neal Collins rugby The Barbarians, South Africa’s final foe on their topsy-turvey European tour, have wisely opted to pick just two Englishmen for the final showdown at Cardiff’s Millennium stadium on Sunday. Barbarians? Hardly. Arnold Schwarzenegger won’t be there and several of the team are from civilised society. It’s just the name given to a […]

Matthew Krouse live art People who undertake the lofty task of elevating theatre to the status of “live art” must spend a lot of time cooking up unusual things to do instead of just acting out a character stuck in a plot. As a discipline, live art has more to do with witnessing invention than […]

Innovations Nokia has unveiled the third incarnation of its Communicator smart phone. The 9210, which will go on sale priced at about R4?000 in Europe, but probably far more here in South Africa, keeps its predecessors’ keyboard, but adds a colour screen, high-speed data access and Symbian’s EPOC32 operating system. The Communicator not only supports […]

The collapse of a major windsurfing manufacturer because of the construction of a road spotlights the effect of inept town planning on business Thuli Nhlapo Boudewijn Lampe, managing director of Windsurfing Africa in Milpark, stands in a small office, surrounded by trophies and surfing equipment. “It is six years down the line and three suicides […]

Foreign companies should face up to the truth about their roles in apartheid, a recent NGO conference in Germany concluded Geoff Rodoreda Multinational corporations that did business with South Africa’s white minority government are facing renewed calls to pay compensation to apartheid’s victims, following the launch of an apartheid-reparations campaign in Europe. South African NGOs […]

The Springboks have a chance to end their tour on a high note against the Barbarians Andy Capostagno And so the tour looks likely to end with more questions than answers. Before it began we knew that Argentina, Ireland and Wales were all vulnerable and that England at Twickenham presented the only major obstacle among […]

Cedric Mayson spirit level AN Wilson in last week’s Mail and Guardian thinks that the Christian church faces extinction (“Christianity: The end is nigh”). “Christianity will decline yet further … because Christians themselves no longer believe it is true.” Wilson rejoices in the advances in biblical scholarship and suggests that only a minority of scholars […]

Miss South Africa contenders will have to share the limelight with eight local designers Rachel Martens This year Miss South Africa competition might still draw the attention of post-rugby match male crowds, the true fashion highlights of the evening are a little less brief. In a first for the local pageant, organisers have selected not […]

Comic Pieter-Dirk Uys has published a new novel on the Internet. But it doesn’t work Lauren Shantall Many a true word has been said in jest. But master of stage satire Pieter-Dirk Uys really has to be joking if he expects readers to take his attempts at a serious piece of fiction seriously. The sad […]