Bafana anthem urges team to put lightning in boots

Last night saw the launch of comic actor Leon Shuster and musician Don Clarke’s music video Khuthula Bo! which is meant to further inspire the soccer fever which infected has the country.

The song which comes a month ahead of the release of the movie Schuks Tshabalala’s Survival Guide to South Africa is meant to be an anthem for the national soccer team as the World Cup approaches.

A selected audience of media and other guests was treated to a short screening the music video and performances in Fourways, Johannesburg.

The two personalities that sing the song say the four-minute-long video was inspired by the antics of Schuks Tshabalala and his trusty sidekick Shorty who star in the soon to be released film in which Schuster also stars.

The character of Shorty is portrayed by the witty Alf Ntombeni who was also in attendance. Shuster himself did not attend the screening.

The song which could soon be blazing on radio sets of patriotic locals will include the phrase “Bafana Bafana bring it home to mama” and “if the ball is like a bullet, you must put lightning in your boots”.

Ntombeni says his message to foreign visitors will be that ‘this is home’. He partially explains this sentiment by saying it is similar to where they refer to as home in the sense that they will find the same means of transport and animals, among other things.

Clarke who penned some of the lyrics to the song describes the video as a frantic, highly expressive juxtaposition of human images representing many facets of South Africa’s rainbow nation with all sorts of people singing lines from the song. As for his inspiration, he says it is an instinctive talent which he somewhat fails to explain.

“There’s a lot of dancing, clapping, clowning around and generally reacting to the spirit of the music and the event that we have all been waiting for,” says the well-known artist about the song.

The catchy Khuthala Bo! is one of the songs featured on Clarke’s latest offering. It will also be featured on the official FIFA 2010 soundtrack which will be distributed locally under record label Gallo.

Schuks Tshabalala’s Survival Guide to South Africa opens at cinemas nationwide on 28 May.

People's peoet fights back

Poet Mzwakhe Mbuli says he is taking government to court after his two year anguish in jail.

The people's poet, as Mbuli is affectionately known, says he has instructed his lawyer to begin proceedings of laying charges against Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa and Justice Minister Jeff Radebe.

The artist was last Friday acquited on four charges of kidnapping, intimidation, assault and the pointing a firearm at the Germiston Regional Court after he pleaded not guilty. The crimes were alleged to have been committed in 2008.

Mbuli says he feels vindicated as a result of the court's stance.

These charges were not withdrawn, it is total acquittal, so this is the next best thing, says Mbuli.

"I am now filing a lawsuit of unlawful arrest against the police minister and another of malicious prosecution against the justice minister."

This irreparably damaged my reputation here and abroad. It was not two days, it is not two months but two years, says the angry artist.

He says his lawyer would today be sending out letters of demands to the respective ministers.

Author: Phathu Musitha / Jacaranda News

Why the chaos?

Is it South Africa's seemingly last-minute culture to blame for the chaos portrayed at queues on the first day as the final ticketing phase for the World Cup began? I don’t quite believe so!

It is known that police had to spray pepper spray to calm rowdy crowds who were pushing and shoving at the ticketing center at the Brooklyn Mall in Pretoria.

In Cape Town, it was also reported that a man died of an apparent seizure while waiting to buy his ticket.

It seems to me that locals were all along keen on purchasing tickets. Perhaps infrastructural challenges and complicated systems were to blame for the less than satisfactory sale of tickets in the country - considering that we are a first-time host nation.

Tickets are moving at a speedily rate, regardless of the glitch suffered at centres yesterday. After all, some 80,000 tickets were sold yesterday, with Cape Town reaching sold out status on the first day that tickets were being sold for cash over the counters. That is a milestone - a great achievement. Buying over the counter is so much more simple and inviting.

Soccer fans are even camping overnight with their blankets and reading material, just so they don't miss their favourite teams tackle one another on the field.

Imagine how many tickets would have left the shelves, had we been able to buy tickets over the counter all along.

I am easy to please, but could you answer your phone!

When excelling in my job largely depends on conducting telephonic interviews, it is always a frustrating obstacle when newsmakers and their media camps refuse my calls.

I am easy to please, really, but we journalists speak the language of deadlines. Subsequently, when sources and commentators are not reached ahead of the deadline, we become somewhat inefficient. A journalist who can’t get a story is as good as one without a job.

While it is true that these people have meetings to attend and other duties to complete, they in the same breath have other aspects of the job to satisfy, including communicating with the media. And I mean effectively and professionally.

New spokespeople almost always answer their phones in the beginning. Those who start off well in a new portfolio sometimes become tedious and non-responsive, making you wish to somehow travel to their destination, press the answer button on their behalf and then press the phone against their ear.

Some people are 'helpful' in to the extent that even before you even pick up the phone to dial their number you are 80 percent certain that they won't answer. I love days when the 20 percent reigns.

Sure, I understand just how much of a pain it must be when I call people as early as 6am to request a soundbite or interview. Do I have a choice? No! Some have even protested that I never again call them at that "ungodly" hour.

It is not as if they have a don’t-speak-to-the-media agenda, perhaps they just genuinely can't help when they are needed.

Without doubt, in overcoming these challenges, it is imperative to develop good working relationships with the people you need in order to be effective in your job.

That being said, not all news sources can be classified in the same depressing category.

Some people help make my job a bliss as well as a profound pleasure because they not only grant interviews, they execute them in a clear, concise and crisp manner - nothing ambiguous - to the delight of editors. Kudos to them.

Like many other professions, journalism comes with its challenges. This is just one of them, but don't be discouraged. I know I'm not :-).

Just his luck!

Contrary to my initial beliefs, I have adopted the belief that bad luck may exist after all.

I am surrounded by people who constantly need reassurance and motivation because they are on such a low point emotionally, which has a draining effect on me at times.

I acknowledge that it takes a special kind of person not to take a knock when life seems to throw rocks at you.

Some black people - especially those more primitive - hold numerous beliefs which leave them somewhat superstitious. I say black people because it I have heard how they speak. Granted, many other people within other races may be similar. As for blacks, it may be that their history is to blame for their attitudes and their approach on certain issues, some of which are considered taboo.

Take a good friend of mine for instance, in January 2009, shortly after having his first car, it got stolen. Please note that it was a get-by car, but the thieves did not care to spare him and go for a more expensive, recent car. No, I am not promoting any degree of theft.

Two months went by; he restored his lack-of-own-transport and bought a second car. He was to later find that this would be short-lived, as car this car did not check out with the traffic department, another disappointment for him. Upon returning it, he got another car - his third. Well his second car technically, though it was at first not in his list of ‘cars to buy’, this in April.

Barely a month after having this car, he gets into a terrible car accident which leaves a passenger who is a good friend of his seriously injured and hospitalised for a month or so. He, on the other hand escapes with minor injuries, making him the bearer of guilt. Off he goes to spend all his measly earnings on fixing the car – he had no insurance and the culprit did not stop to see the damage he had caused.

After several months of material deprivation and being broke, his car returns to him in its previous condition, the month is June. He now falls in love with the car which he was at first very reluctant to buy.

Little did he know that he would get into another awful accident, again it is not his fault. And yes, this driver also gets away without being held accountable. This happens in September, only a day before his birthday. Once more, he is left carless. Blame it on the fact that another careless driver of another vehicle - this time a taxi - skipped a red robot. Still, he consoled himself using the fact that he was still alive, and for that he was genuinely grateful.

Because he resentment ill-informed judgment and speculation of possible witchcraft and bad luck, he resorts to keeping all ‘questionable’ and ‘suspicious’ events to himself and those extremely close in his circle. It has crossed his mind many times that he may be cursed, or have a bout of bad luck – thoughts he tries to entertain as minimally as possible. Coincidence does not exist, and if it does, it is far too familiar with him.

Beyond that, he has had financial problems and constantly had to ask for help from those who still had the patience to assist him without gossiping about him. He had just started his first internship last and was studying simultaneously. As his luck went, he would never get paid on time and when he did receive his pay, it was never in full.

Several times, he had to go and cash in a cheque which was given to him after a hassle and a hustle, and he would have to wait for a full week before seeing any of his money. This just exacerbated his money woes and depressed him further. Yet he is the most optimistic person I know, and as a joking matter in his intimate circle, he has been likened to the character of Job in the Bible - owing to his experiences.

May this be a case of circumstantial bad luck?