'Hate the game, not the playa'

Well I have to say, as far as April Fool's Days go, this one has been rather lacking. No huge pranks to speak of. While skimming through this morning's Times I tried to keep a skeptical eye out for would-be 'prank' articles. But with elections drawing closer and the contending parties getting into a tizzy over campaigning, it's hard to take anything that features in the newspaper seriously. Especially yesterday's newsflash that this Friday the NPA is going to announce owhether or not they're going to drop the charges against Jacob Zuma. I mean, WTF?!?!? Stuff like this really makes my blood boil! I wish that was just an April Fool's Day prank, even though it most certainly is a joke.

Anyway, let's keep it light. This morning local radio station CapeTalk played a little prank on their listeners when they told Capetonians that there's a motion to change the name of Table Mountain. You can imagine how many panties ended up all knotted over that one! ;)

And the Times reported that South Africa's uber-dodgy former health minister, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, is set to make a big comeback, after her successor (Barbara Hogan) spoke out publicly against the government's stupid, stupid, stupid decision not to give the Dalai Lama a visa so he could attend an upcoming conference. (The frikken' Dalai Lama!!! I mean, c'mon!) We know the bit about denying him a visa did actually happen and that Ms Hogan did indeed speak out against the decision, but let's hope the rest is nothing but a joke. Right?

And then there was a little piece about the ANC being pissed off that DA leader Helen Zille was going to perform at a jazz festival to be held in Cape Town later this month. Yikes. ;)

Anyway, whether you've been taken for a sucker or dodged that bullet, here's hoping your April Fool's Day has treated you kindly.

Oh hello Mr President

Its been a really interesting couple of weeks. Not so much on a personal note, but most certainly on a political level. Sorry for the incessant 'state of the nation' waffle but seriously, this stuff is huge!

So the other week, Zuma was told that the fraud and corruption charges against him were unlawful, based on a mere technicality. Yet it was this technicality that resulted in Thabo Mbeki being 'recalled' and now here we are - two weeks since the Zuma hearing and the country has a new president. Wow. President Kgalema Motlanthe has around seven months to get used to his new title before the next elections, at which point Zuma is likely to take his place, but in the meantime, here's hoping Motlanthe can do some powerful, positive stuff. It's been a good start so far. Already we have a new Minister of Health which is a really, really great thing. They booted out Manto Tshabalala-Msimang. She's the alcoholic thief who wanted the nation to combat HIV/Aids with garlic and beetroot. (Yup, she's special.) Thankfully they've replaced Manto with a woman by the name of Barbara Hogan, and hopefully she'll bring the change our health care system so desperately needs. About bloody time. Apparently on the night the announcement was made, the TAC was so happy that some of their members serenaded the new health minister from below her balcony. Sweet! :)

Yup, definitely been a bit of a roller coaster ride in terms of politics over the last couple of weeks. Only time will tell if things are going to get better.

On another totally irrelevant note, my new mobile arrived the other day. It's an HTC Touch and it's a whack-load more advanced than my trusty old Samsung D900. It'll take me a while to get used to the new interface but so far I'm pretty happy with it. It feels like a grown-up phone but I guess at the ripe ol' age of 31, it's about time. Pity I couldn't get my paws on an iPhone - that would've been first prize, and I feel like a bit of a sell-out going with a PC-based device, but what can you do. Whatever.

This is what my pretty little phone looks like... Touch screen, so no keypad. I feel very sophisticated using a stylus, even if it's just for a quick round of Solitaire. (Ooh, loser!)

Is pretty, no?

Anyway, this has been a pretty 'blah' post - sorry for that. Will try to be more entertaining next time 'round.



P.S. I watched the entire Season 1 of Boston Legal over the weekend, and I now have a mini crush on James Spader. Is that normal? Hopefully it'll pass.

The future Mr Fluffy Pink Thing