The 1950´s, to my generation, exists merely for us to remember that someone famous came from there.

Movies, vintage posters and a great revival of the pin-up girl craze serve as plaques on which famous faces get to relive their lives in this age. Looking at these plaques closely though, I noticed a stamp in each corner… the American flag. I am not American, I want to know what was Africa doing at this time?

While Marilyn Monroe was scratching her Seven Year Itch, South Africa was experiencing apartheid, Africa was experiencing post-colonialism and generally had more important things to worry about. And worry is what people did. There was a chronic case of worrying. It was a plague that was spread by apartheid and oppression and of the many negatives symptoms that arose, one good thing did, Drum magazine.

Drum danced through the African continent, on legs of freedom of speech and to the music of a vibrant urban culture. It became the mother that fed the need for journalistic expression, allowing a new generation of black writers to talk about the conditions of their lives. Writers such as Henry Nxumalo, who risked his life exposing the brutal nature of the South African apartheid regime and many others. (Watch DRUM, starring Taye Diggs - based on the real life accounts of Drummagazine writer Henry Nxumalo.)

Not to leave a promising subject though, were there African pin-up girls? Searching for one was as hard as finding a Bush supporter. But even while looking there came the answer, again Drum. The magazine had been the voice of the people, in more ways than one. It featured fashion, great ads, and the African Beauty. No blonde hair and what I call the pin-up “oops!” face here.

Coming back to the search, I came across a treasure on Flickr, by Amaah who had collected pics from Ghana´s Drum publications and here they are! Enjoy and check out the Drum Decade book from Amazon to find out more about this great era in Africa.

Drum Decade book review:
The Drum Decade: Stories From The 1950s is an anthology of original stories of South African life chosen from the pages of Drum magazine. Originally published in the 1950s, these literary stories are written by black writers in a gritty and hardy city style that has endured for decades and celebrates cherished freedom. Fresh, vivid, unique, and exciting to read, The Drum Decade is a superior anthology embracing the cultural history of a nation and highly recommended reading for South African Studies supplemental reading and academic reference collections.

The 1950´s, to my generation, exists merely for us to remember that someone famous came from there.

Movies, vintage posters and a great revival of the pin-up girl craze serve as plaques on which famous faces get to relive their lives in this age. Looking at these plaques closely though, I noticed a stamp in each corner… the American flag. I am not American, I want to know what was Africa doing at this time?

While Marilyn Monroe was scratching her Seven Year Itch, South Africa was experiencing apartheid, Africa was experiencing post-colonialism and generally had more important things to worry about. And worry is what people did. There was a chronic case of worrying. It was a plague that was spread by apartheid and oppression and of the many negatives symptoms that arose, one good thing did, Drum magazine.

Drum danced through the African continent, on legs of freedom of speech and to the music of a vibrant urban culture. It became the mother that fed the need for journalistic expression, allowing a new generation of black writers to talk about the conditions of their lives. Writers such as Henry Nxumalo, who risked his life exposing the brutal nature of the South African apartheid regime and many others. (Watch DRUM, starring Taye Diggs - based on the real life accounts of Drummagazine writer Henry Nxumalo.)

Not to leave a promising subject though, were there African pin-up girls? Searching for one was as hard as finding a Bush supporter. But even while looking there came the answer, again Drum. The magazine had been the voice of the people, in more ways than one. It featured fashion, great ads, and the African Beauty. No blonde hair and what I call the pin-up “oops!” face here.

Coming back to the search, I came across a treasure on Flickr, by Amaah who had collected pics from Ghana´s Drum publications and here they are! Enjoy and check out the Drum Decade book from Amazon to find out more about this great era in Africa.

Drum Decade book review:
The Drum Decade: Stories From The 1950s is an anthology of original stories of South African life chosen from the pages of Drum magazine. Originally published in the 1950s, these literary stories are written by black writers in a gritty and hardy city style that has endured for decades and celebrates cherished freedom. Fresh, vivid, unique, and exciting to read, The Drum Decade is a superior anthology embracing the cultural history of a nation and highly recommended reading for South African Studies supplemental reading and academic reference collections.

Yes, the rumours are true – I love the Dog. They say that those in the know target their prey young and long before Barbie had four year olds in high heals – the Dog Men were setting the standard. It all started so innocently with those stands at the ice- skating ring in my vulnerable youth. The rolls were so fresh they’d squish if you looked at them too hard and fake tomato sauce and mustard so good, they gave Wimpy – King of Fake Condiments - a hard time. Fast forward twenty years and The Habit is now so firmly rooted as a way of life, I foresee no hope of ever giving it up…and why should I? Hot Dogs are Awesome!

Chief purveyor of awesomeness is in my opinion Reuben’s Sandwich Shop on Rudd road, Illovo - in the Post Office Center. The black and white interior is cool and relaxed but because Reubens is owner run it has that warm welcome that makes you want to sit back and chill out. So what could possibly be so revolutionary – yes, I mean revolutionary – that could set this dog so far apart from the rest? It’s their magic mustard, that’s what. Sure the vienna is great. The rolls are always fresh and they come toasted – a very important detail to us connoisseurs/addicts. But the mustard…it’s all in the mustard. It’s sweet, as behoves a proper dog-mustard but it also has a definite bite. Home-made, it’s also creamy and single handedly, the mustard elevates this Dog to another level. I hopefully asked one of the owners, Dianne, whether they sell it; she just smiled her ‘you wish’-smile and said they love having us back so unfortunately no. Wall Street – take note, this is how you corner the market.

Drinks that definitely deserves mention is Reuben’s good coffee, rich chocolate milk shake and the hot chocolate (don’t speak of it too freely but rumour has it that they use real Lindt chocolate – such temptation would sway the Vatican…wait, the Vatican has been swayed so far it’s fallen over…maybe Mother Theresa then, were she alive of course – well you get the point). As to the rest of their fare - it is said that their sandwiches are brilliant and their burgers magnificent (Vincent loves it) but I honestly couldn’t tell you; every time I have go the thought has not crossed my mind to try something else – nothing could beat the Best Dog in Johannesburg.

I thought I might not write this one, but then forced by a desire to see visitors flock to the Moral Fibre website and to appease my business partner Mr Saul K. I thought I best do it.

So.

The Venue - Capellos Sandton (Beside Edgars on the Second Level of the Sandton Mall)

The venue rocks; a definite improvement. First and foremost as a venue for presentations it worked well, the staff could be a little quieter but then that will come with time. Garsen from Capellos seems to actually thrive on his interaction with geekdom and I commend him for that - it is a selfless act suffering through the manic conversations of a nerdling who cannot maintain his attention, his eye contact or his wit. Nevertheless the food was great, I had a chicken mayo tramezzini and a couple of beers (served in chilled glasses) the food was actually better than I’ve tasted it at Capellos. Very surprising when you consider that over one hundred guests were badgering the waiters.

The presentations :

Jeff Fletcher, ISLabs - “Making the SA Internet better” & Don Packett, THUNK Perpective Lab - “The value of perspective”.

Jeff Fletcher took us through  ISLabs‘ contribution to the internet with the help of Mike who pointed him in the right direction with probing questions. The questions related primarily to  ISLabs a crowd-sourced ideation initiative which aims at gathering ideas and where necessary implementing them.

I think what struck me most was that they appeared to be walking the talk, here was a company which spoke - perhaps not very enthusiastically on the night - about changing lives, investing money into outreach programmes helping out Ph.D students etc.

Although the conversation felt a little too much like the “about” page of the  ISLabs site, it was simple, to the point and gave me all the information I needed to spark my own interest in submitting my ideas to ISLab. A job well done then.

Next up was Don Packett who took us through a very masculine perspective of perspective, ironically. His presentation itself fell into the trap of trying to say too much; without saying “it” at all. The presentation itself was a learning experience, but as it was utilized to make a profound point about the manner in which THUNK Perpective Lab actually went about their business.

I felt the presentation lacked coherence, most of the crowd (knowing as SaulK suggested about crowd-sourcing innovation and acquiring an alternate perspective) didn’t require a refresher course on those faces / innovations already too familiar too them. Instead we needed to hear about Thunk Lab’s implementation of said ground breaking approaches to innovation and how THUNK Perpective Lab’s solutions integrate the very interesting theoretical models behind crowd sourcing, the “we-think” model, complexity theory and standard qualitative market research.

Don my advice to you is to stick to what you know, you seem passionate about the subject and you speak very well. Ditch the explanations and focus on a few key points which provide the structural framework for your concluding “slide” the ThunkLab perspective on alternative consumer research.

My thoughts :

So my third 27dinner, what are my thoughts thus far? Perhaps my biggest concern is that speakers don’t seem to want to challenge the audience, they focus instead on their own companies / what they’re doing. Of course its a great opportunity to send up your own business or your creative solutions, but I think the platform warrants something more than a business plug. I was chatting to Gustav Bertram the other day, and we shared our views on open - source education, wouldn’t a presentation from Mr Betram on the subject be interesting? Yes its a wee bit more serious than a lighthearted creds - presentation of your business but we are all gathered in a single spot at the same time, why not use the opportunity to inspire and create new ideas?

Why not move away from viewing the world as a the blogosphere as we so often do e.g. the epic iphone launch in the wake of a new president and cabinet, and focus instead on how to utilize our talents as a collective to better the lives of others.

Thanks again to team Cerebra for organizing the event, to Garsen from Capellos for allowing us to use the venue and to my two partners in crime Heidi and Saul thank you for the epic-entertainment!

I thought I might not write this my 27 dinner review - gig, but then forced by a desire to see visitors flock to the Moral Fibre website and to appease my business partner Mr Saul K. I thought I best do it.

So here it goes, the 27 dinner review which took place on the 25th of September :

The Venue - Capellos Sandton (Beside Edgars on the Second Level of the Sandton Mall)

The venue rocks; a definite improvement. First and foremost as a venue for presentations it worked well, the staff could be a little quieter but then that will come with time. Garsen from Capellos seems to actually thrive on his interaction with geekdom and I commend him for that - it is a selfless act suffering through the manic conversations of a nerdling who cannot maintain his attention, his eye contact or his wit. Nevertheless the food was great, I had a chicken mayo tramezzini and a couple of beers (served in chilled glasses) the food was actually better than I’ve tasted it at Capellos. Very surprising when you consider that over one hundred guests were badgering the waiters.

The presentations :

Jeff Fletcher, ISLabs - “Making the SA Internet better” & Don Packett, THUNK Perpective Lab - “The value of perspective”.

Jeff Fletcher took us through  ISLabs‘ contribution to the internet with the help of Mike who pointed him in the right direction with probing questions. The questions related primarily to  ISLabs a crowd-sourced ideation initiative which aims at gathering ideas and where necessary implementing them.

I think what struck me most was that they appeared to be walking the talk, here was a company which spoke - perhaps not very enthusiastically on the night - about changing lives, investing money into outreach programmes helping out Ph.D students etc.

Although the conversation felt a little too much like the “about” page of the  ISLabs site, it was simple, to the point and gave me all the information I needed to spark my own interest in submitting my ideas to ISLab. A job well done then.

Next up was Don Packett who took us through a very masculine perspective of perspective, ironically. His presentation itself fell into the trap of trying to say too much; without saying “it” at all. The presentation itself was a learning experience, but as it was utilized to make a profound point about the manner in which THUNK Perpective Lab actually went about their business.

I felt the presentation lacked coherence, most of the crowd (knowing as SaulK suggested about crowd-sourcing innovation and acquiring an alternate perspective) didn’t require a refresher course on those facts / innovations already too familiar too them. Instead we needed to hear about Thunk Lab’s implementation of said ground breaking approaches to innovation and how THUNK Perpective Lab’s solutions integrate the very interesting theoretical models behind crowd sourcing, the “we-think” model, complexity theory and standard qualitative market research.

Don my advice to you is to stick to what you know, you seem passionate about the subject and you speak very well. Ditch the explanations and focus on a few key points which provide the structural framework for your concluding “slide” the ThunkLab perspective on alternative consumer research.

My thoughts :

So my third 27dinner, what are my thoughts thus far? Perhaps my biggest concern is that speakers don’t seem to want to challenge the audience, they focus instead on their own companies / what they’re doing. Of course its a great opportunity to send up your own business or your creative solutions, but I think the platform warrants something more than a business plug. I was chatting to Gustav Bertram the other day, and we shared our views on open - source education, wouldn’t a presentation from Mr Betram on the subject be interesting? Yes its a wee bit more serious than a lighthearted creds - presentation of your business but we are all gathered in a single spot at the same time, why not use the opportunity to inspire and create new ideas?

Why not move away from viewing the world as a the blogosphere as we so often do e.g. the epic iphone launch in the wake of a new president and cabinet, and focus instead on how to utilize our talents as a collective to better the lives of others.

Thanks again to team Cerebra for organizing the event, to Garsen from Capellos for allowing us to use the venue and to my two partners in crime Heidi and Saul thank you for the epic-entertainment!

As everyone knows, Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise spends all his time lost in space, getting picked on by morally inferior aliens. Space, in Captain Picard’s scientifically suspect world, is a place where sound travels and where lasers shoot in short, modest spurts, like a 17-year-old. Space is also a place where fires and explosions can occur without the apparent presence of oxygen.

The tale of Captain Picard is based on the rather annoying split infinitive: “To boldly go where no man had gone before.” Indeed, in reality no one can go to Picard’s space….because it simply cannot physically exist. You do not have to read Hawkins to know this either, I laughed at this long before I ever laughed at the idea of matter being smeared around the edges of a black hole…but that is a tale for another day.

Fair enough, the original 1966 film was founded on the old post-apocalyptic rule: man destroys earth and uses sheer wit and brilliance to wander off into the unexplored wastes of outer space in search of nothing more than knowledge and moral superiority. It’s all a bit insecure really, one has a hard time believing that a society that spawned the quiet, steady hand of Captain Picard could possibly have destroyed Planet Earth. It is like saying that Jane Austin fell pregnant by a heathen and never went to church, we all know Jane is far too didactic and sensible. To top it off it’s predictable: really very much an exaggerated Armageddon tale in the vein of: War of the Worlds and even (to a lesser extent) prophetic entertainment such as Dr Strangelove, or how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb. Point being, in this day and age (and certainly in the politically uncertain 1960s) one would come to expect a Jean-Luc Picard, someone with quaint yet strong French name, who is about as French as a football hooligan from Manchester (hey, if your not a Mank you’re a wank).

So why the raging success? My first instinct is always to hit the ‘idiot’ button, but in this case I am overwhelmed by the sense that Star Trek is essentially a very good story. And a very well formulated story in the style of a heroic novel and a post-apocalyptic yarn of hope. How does this happen? Well most literature is formulated, and most of these formulas work. Going back as far as Beowulf, Chaucer and the Pearl Poet we discover that each of these writers wrote in a high heroic style, emphasised by characters who served as allegories of morality and heroism.

People love it! They don’t know it…but story telling has, through the centuries, devised ways to get them to love it. The hero must die, he must be from rather mysterious or unfortunate beginnings (usually without parents), he must journey, have an epiphany, and make tough choices. I am not sucking this out of my thumb or speaking from observation, these are hard-and-fast rules.

Frankly, I like Picard but I am also deeply bored by him. He is character cooked up by recipe, and as such he is profoundly two-dimensional and any last-ditch attempts to explore his deepest, darkest, innermost complexities in later day cinema releases failed quite spectacularly. No one needs a winging hero with a conflict of self, it sort of defeats the purpose.

Nowadays, all literature is post-modern, arse-upwards emotionally confusing things (thanks JM Coetzee), and even though this is often more edgy…it is also in a sense deeply boring. There is always a climax, but none of the revelatory kind of culminations that we used to get. The story also does not have to reveal itself or explain anything. Authors like Pynchon will keep you guessing and then leave you hanging, and you have the faintest suspicion that you are being duped once you hit the end of it.

I guess my point is that I miss antiques like Picard and his one-sided morality. I miss the predictable safety of that formula. There is a time for sound in space, and if we keep our ears to the ground of modern literature, we run the risk of hearing nothing.

1. Hi! Would give us an introduction to yourself and where you are from?

Hi! My name is Shauna Chapman and I operate my own ethical/eco fashion label called Quail in England. I’ve been living in the UK for 13 years but I’m originally from Vancouver, Canada. I have a huge passion for creativity, travel, culture, food and for the environment and nature.

2. How did you get into design/art, did you have a key-experience, like in the Alchemist?

I got into design/art from an early age. I’d always be mucking around with paints as a child and I liked to consider how good something looked from an early age. Where I grew up near Vancouver there was a perfect, wild forest about 50ft from our house so my brothers and I would spend time in the forest, seeing things grow, amazing bugs, huge trees, mushrooms and orchids. I was also really into National Geographic magazines which were stacked in the basement and I’d flick through them looking at amazing places and people. I had a teacher when I was 12 who introduced me to Art History, the importance of it, the richness of things that people created. I started to travel as soon as I got some money of my own. The first place outside Vancouver I visited was Rome! I studied Art History, kept travelling, worked as a graphic designer for awhile and then moved to London!

3. Tell us more about your project and the inspiration for it.

Quail is the name of my clothing label and I specialise in organic and fairtrade cotton which has been handloomed by a co-operative in K.V.Kuppam, in southern India. I also use genuine Indonesian batiks, some of which is antique batik up to 40 years old, and Ahimsa peace silk where the moth is free to escape his cocoon before being processed into silk (unlike commercial silk production!). I love the provenance of fabrics–where they’ve come from, where the cotton or fibre was grown, who wove it and by which method.

I think the supply chain of fashion really needs to be examined and considered by consumers as growing commercial cotton is a nasty affair with the heavy use of pesticides and unfair labour practices. There needs to be a redefinition of what makes quality, original, funky clothing. I manufacture in the south west of England, within 40kms of the Quail studio.

I use South African shweshwe and was the first label in the UK to retail ladies shweshwe shirts and dresses in that famous blue!!! I still think Quail is the only label in love with shweshwe in the UK. Quail was featured on the front page of the South African times newspaper in Europe for using South African shweshwe and for my innovation of eco and ethical fashion which is designed and made in England. Since the company that produces the shweshwe is owned by 45% of the workforce themselves and the cotton is grown locally, I think that is a sustainable and ethical solution for them on the Eastern Cape. The fact that shweshwe is a national heritage item is a lovely thing. If shweshwe can be organic one day–I’ll be in heaven!

4. What is it like being an artist in your country?

Creative people the world over always have to struggle to get recognition for their creative productivity and I don’t think any country is known for artists automatically being successful if they create something amazing. But it is this struggle that makes an artist stronger!!! Art is a mystery to consumers at times, many shoppers are naive about how long it takes to create a thing of beauty! But still, there is a market for unique things and ‘Made in England’ still resonates with quality, innovation and something fine.

I used to live in central London where there are a million and one different lifestyles to choose from. I love the way that Londoners have a distinct Londoness about them no matter which trend comes and goes. There is an appreciation of heritage that is uniquely London but there is still acceptance of every other world idea or culture coming in. Where I live now, in England’s south west, things are not much different. There’s an energy, a vibe, a drive except in a traditional Devon fishing village. Across the road from the Quail studio is Stan Bolt’s Architects which design and build cutting edge million pound James Bond-style homes which overlook the stunning coastline. But Stan’s office is an century old sardine-packing shed with pigeons in the rafters and since I share a studio with a cartographer–we all go to the pub together (though not with the pigeons!). That’s England!

5. What´s projects are coming up next?

Since I import fabric direct from my supply contacts in India, Indonesia and South Africa I’m expecting a shipment of textiles which I will utilise and put to manufacture this Autumn. It’s kind of like Christmas. I make order decisions months previously based on small swatches so seeing hundreds of metres of my fabric purchases just brings out the creativity in me. Happiness is bolts of eco/ethical fabric in the stockroom!

6. How do we get in touch with you?

Shauna Chapman
Quail
56 Higher Street, Brixham, Devon, TQ5 8HW, England
www.quailbymail.co.uk
www.quailbymail.blogspot.com
contact@quailbymail.co.uk
Quail welcomes international orders.

Soo ladies and gents we have three t-shirts now available, our very own Moral Fibre T-Shirts for you to proudly wear whilst walking on the streets of this beautiful country. They’re selling @ R180 per shirt, free shipping nationwide and if you’re lucky perhaps hand delivered by yours truly the vincent. Please contact me on vincehof@gmail.com or on twitter as vincenthofmann you can get me on IM @ vincehof@gmail.com on gchat.

We have very limited numbers, roughly 30 prints of each design. You are wearing a body of art, not simply a retail object and thus you have to pay special attention to our instructions for wearing in public :

You are to appreciate these shirts, ensure that they are washed with the utmost care. You are to tell your friends about the philosophy and the political history which inspired their creation. Tell your Vegan friends about “play nicely” and your politically conscious friends about the urban renewal programme which Andrew Bell’s “freedom of movement?” was inspired by and you will always remember “don’t let anyone fuck with your dreams”.

Please take a Moral Fibre t-shirt with you on a walk now and again, they do so enjoy being outside spreading their messages - don’t be selfish, art is both intensely private and uber-communal.

Moral Fibre - Don't let anyone fuck with your dreams on sale now for R180.00

MOral Fibre - "Play Nicely" On sale now for R180

Moral Fibre - Freedom of Movement? On sale now for R180

T-Shirt pics on models to follow, the t-shirts arrive in a car near me at 12 : 30 today.

So ladies and gents, I’m going to post a more detailed description of each shirt when I figure out how to create an online store worthy of your eyeballs and devoid of flash banners and the other bullcrud which gets in the way of making your way to the Moral Fibre T-Shirt aisle!

“In the factory we make cosmetics; in the store we sell hope.”

Hope for that experience, the etherial hypnotic sensation that can be created by triggering the senses.
Religious rituals have relied heavily on the overwhelming of the senses to create a feeling of awe. Hypnotising the mind, filling it with a strange scent, pleasant and seductive - perfume.

The Egyptians were the first to introduce perfume as a part of religious ceremonies in which aromatic gums, frankincense and myrrh were used to awe the ignorant. The word “perfume” comes from the Latin per fume, meaning “through smoke”. Literally creating a scented smoking haze that clouds the logical mind and allows the sub-conscience to run free through the fields of imagination, hoping to catch a glimpse or hear the voice of god. They understood then, what many marketers still practice now…

“Good  advertising does not just circulate information. It penetrates the public mind with desires and belief.”

Perfume houses today still practice this ritual, serving as the priests and priestesses and replacing Cleopatra with Kate Moss. They believe that a woman is a walking billboard, what we wear, the colour of our hair and how we smell gives off information about us, it creates a belief in a stranger about our character. Noticed how perfume advertising is rarely ever about the smell but more about the person wearing it? Always a single, sexy woman, the muse or embodiment of the scent. Mostly she is white, blonde/brunette mixed, thin and vulnerable looking. Who relates to that..1/10 of the world? What about the rest of us, who just appreciate a good scent but do not need the bells and whistles to go along which adds to a 400% markup to the actual cost of the fragrance?

It´s time to rediscover the roots of scent, the natural and importantly, individual. Let´s leave the smoke and mirrors where they belong, in the past.

“Scent is always individual. Your sense of smell is one of the most unique things about you – more individual than your fingerprints, than the shape of your ear, than the pattern of your retina. Your sense of smell is one of the most important factors that defines you as YOU.”  Christoper Brosius

We are individuals, though also a part of nature and sometimes it´s our memories of being in nature that are most pleasant and are evoked suddenly by a familiar scent. Let´s take a mindwalk to special places…

Winter 1972: A field of untouched new fallen snow, hand knit woolen mittens covered with frost, a hint of frozen forest & sleeping earth
In the Summer Kitchen: Fresh garden vegetables & herbs on a clear summer evening with a touch of smoked old wooden rafters
Greenbriar 1968: This scent of a memory of your Grandfather, the sawmill that he owned and the stone house where he lived.

These are not only memories, but also the names of scents which are available, in a bottle. They smell just like they are described and forego all bells and whistles, rather filling the mind with treasured scents, and that is why I Hate Perfume.

This is by no means new news, but I think it deserves social commentary, that special kind of social commentary that you keep to yourself until everything has played out, so that you have even more material to huff and puff about. The kind of social commentary you rip out like a trump card, to prove a point about how the world is going to pieces.

So here is what the fuss is about: King Mswati III treated himself to a very lavish birthday party. Very lavish indeed, with a US$2,5m price tag minus the extras. He probably thought he deserved it too, a pat on the back for leading one of the poorest countries in Africa (take a moment to think about what that means, I mean I didn’t say one of the poorest countries in Europe did I?), with one of the highest HIV infection rates in the world (drink it in).

Good old CNN has a picture of this smug-looking autocrat (indeed, Swaziland is one of the last absolute monarchies in the world, if you don’t count Zimbabwe), dressed in what they describe as ‘traditional leopard skins’ and what I describe as a grossly inappropriate Halloween costume.

All the people-loving hippies united in disgust at this. And so they should, I love to see the eco-friendly smiles wiped off their faces anyway. They developed a little slogan, King Mswati’s 40th on the 40th year of Swazi independence, where 40% of the country is infected with HIV and most of them won’t live to see 40.

I would love to know where they get those stats from, it’s all a little convenient. Either way I am going to run with it and say: The world is going to pieces.

At the little shin-dig the crowd particularly loved the appearance of Robert Mugabe (Oh hello Darkness my old friend!), who seemed to be the Snoop Dogg of injustice around those parts. They consider him a man (first mistake) who stands up against the west.
Oh Good Ol’ Rob, I imagine him dreaming up book covers with titles like How we conquered the west or an autobiographical piece entitled Dolfie and Me: What I have in common with the Füher. Anyway it’s only fitting that Rob be given a hero’s welcome at the Royal Swazi ho down. He is ridiculous enough to fit right in.

A Royal Swazi mess indeed, not only did they burn their much-needed cash on throwing a leopard-skin bonanza, but they also give one of the least popular idiots in the world a royal welcome. Why? Well, I hate disappoint but am going to have to tick the box marked ‘stupid’ on this one.

These dresses say: “I´m no wallflower, and I don´t shop at Edgars.”

What they do, is reflect a deep love for heritage, culture and design. The result of these three things: total afro-chic awesomeness.

Total afro-chic awesomeness is an attitude as much as an outfit. To wear a dress like this means showing respecting to those who consider and try to keep their heritage alive, in a rather globalised world where most fashion comes out looking the same. They are not 60´s, 80´s, or minimalist. They just are.

What they also are, is the brainchild of a fashion company, Mzansi Designers, with a vision of creating a platform for young designers. Most come from a previously disadvantaged background, who want to interpret and express the modern day South Africa they have lived and experienced through fashion.

This raises the question, `How much of what we experience in modern day South Africa do we, wear as our sleeves?´ Do we live and love this beautiful country and then wear what represents the far north or far west? Understandably not all of our tastes are catered for in chain stores, though we do have one great advantage of many approachable, affordable local designers who can cater to our tastes when commissioned.

Total afro-chic awesomeness is a way to brand ourselves, by ourselves, ignoring the dictatorship of Paris runways and using clothes as a way to express our own experiences. We have had some great ambassadors and even greater designers. Let´s toy-toy in high heels for S.A. fashion and wear South African.

1. You’re All I Have
2. Hands Open
3. Chasing Cars
4. Shut Your Eyes
5. It’s Beginning To Get To Me
6. You Could Be Happy
7. Make This Go On Forever
8. Set The Fire To The Third Bar
9. Headlights On Dark Roads
10. Open Your Eyes
11. Finish Line
12. In My Arms
13. Warmer Climate

That, right there, is the best track list you will ever find on one album, Eyes Open by Snow Patrol.

I suggest you all rush out now and by it. Musica has it on sale for R79.99 at the moment. It was released in the beginning of last year and I bought it back then but played it over and over so much that it eventually refused to go on.

Two weeks ago, I replaced Eyes Open first bought edition with a second. These guys not only know how to make Grey’s Anatomy fans cry, they make me bob my head in traffic, silent in my bedroom when I’m down, and they serve a mean purpose as ‘angry music’ when I’m frustrated about life.

I cannot remember ever enjoying an album in its entirety as much as I’ve enjoyed this one. I recommend it to all.

Thus sayeth The SheBee.

1. Children born in trenches :
This the age of decadence and dismay,

Where chocolate rain pours down upon plastic terrain,

Where tin-shanties hold cookie-cut-cardboard dreams

And the air is slumped over the shoulders of the-mannequins,

who dressed by the blind, still look like shit.

2. Snapshots from my Ivory Swan.
Children whistle into cracked - windows,

The wind whips and wanders into their wet eyes,

Whilst their dreams waltz wistfully into the barren night sky.

2 poems for the price of one - I never finished connecting them - so please be mindful of this fact. If anyone wants to they are most welcome to return them as a collaborative piece - woven together again!

Force fed my love,
She masticates and swallows.
Peristaltic palm fronds, bow to me.
And disregard the gag reflex,
It trickles through the crowd,
Breaking free, its then shoved,
into the mouth of an alchemist,
eviscerated, mixed with acid,
and injected into her heart,
whilst I am combined
with ammonia and sodium
to be cauterized, sterilized
and excreted.

As you may have noticed Moral Fibre has a poetry section - why? Moral Fibre, well Talita and Vincent met swapping poetry - it is the gateway to real human connectivity and in most instances says more in a few lines than some theorists, novelists and definitely politicians are capable of saying in hundreds of pages!

Moral Fibre wants to hear your poetry, the Moral Fibre Poetry section awaits your input and we’d love to start meeting regularly to discuss the poems on the site!