On a Warner Brothers press junket to Los Angeles Alex Dodd found a flip side to the dream factory For someone as hopelessly addicted to the glittery escape of celluloid as I am, the prospect of a trip to Los Angeles had me surfing waves of fantasy. Images of wild, wild Nicholas Cage cruising down […]

Peter Makurube It has taken a long time but at last the real heroes of South African jazz are being honoured. The Untold Story, a show held in memory of jazz greats of an era gone by, is part of the ongoing African Renaissance series. Soloists will interpret the works of icons like Dudu Pukwana, […]

Andrew Worsdale Movie of the week Ever since the release of Ozzie director Peter Weir’s Picnic At Hanging Rock (1975) and, perhaps more significantly, Bruce Beresford’s `Breaker’ Morant (1979), South African film-makers have been notoriously envious of the Australian film industry, and with good reason. `Breaker’ Morant, which tells the story of three Australian soldiers […]

Kwaito superstar Oupa Makhendlas Mafokate died in a confusing drama of gunshots. Zwelithini ka Mvelase looks at Makhendlas as a township thesis of his generation – the wasted, young, black and talented A Nile of tears threatens to storm out of my tear sacks – eyes weighed down by grief and too red to hold […]

Maureen Barnes Down the tube One of the advantages of being a TV critic is being able to watch television at odd times and since Oprah left SABC3, I’ve been tuning in at 5pm. I rather liked the Canadian series, Side Effects, set in an urban clinic, but that ended after a couple of weeks […]

Andy Capostagno Rugby Even Nick Mallett has admitted it. “We cannot claim to be the underdogs on this tour”, he said on Tuesday night, and the Springbok coach is absolutely right. Mallett has built a rod for his own back in this season of unprecedented success for the national side, and a Grand Slam of […]

the racing world An often dogged and sometimes disheartening slog from the ranks of the Formula One has paid off for 1998 world champion Mika Hakkinen. Alan Henry reports Mika Hakkinen of Finland clinched the 1998 Formula One world championship with a flawless flag-to-flag victory in the Japanese Grand Prix, a success which also gave […]

John Crace It goes without saying that your choice of holiday destination is a statement of your aesthetics. After all, there’s precious little point in going to Ibiza if it’s peace and quiet and a few old masters you’re after. And an eco-tour to the Amazonian rain forest immediately identifies you as the caring, thoughtful […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Tuesday 10.30pm. THE National Assembly passed the Conversion of Sasria Bill on Friday, effectively nationalising the South African Special Risks Insurance Association. The bill, approved by all parties in Parliament except the Freedom Front, converts Sasria to a company wholly owned by government, and will allow the use of Sasria’s excess […]