stuck in the mud

Every student in the Nelson Mandela Dining hall always complain about how filthy the pond is and how insane it is that they don’t clean it resulting in a certain eeky smell blowing off from the waterfall and pond…so a group of friends and I decided that we were going to chill outside the dining hall near the smelling pond and that we were going to lay down head to head for exactly an hour and appreciate the beautiful green garden we have outside our dining hall regardless of the reek. So we did it, half the people who walked past us thought we were retarded. The nature lovers of the dining hall said things such as “wow its great that you appreciate nature but why here and not the botanical gardens?” others said “out of all things one could do at Rhodes u chose to sleep here” then others just walked past us giving us the LOSER look of “oh my gosh are they for real?”. This was very interesting and fun we endured the smell plus we had good laughs.although i doubt id do it again as the weather wasnt too great and we got wet as we were "stuck in the mud" and could not move untill the hour was over.

A blog that I simply couldn’t believe was managed by journ 1 students is http://www.thenumber42ispurple.com wow I really found that their blog was very well done, the style of writing and even the choice of words that they used was great. They enhanced the theme of Maya mystery which is their opening piece very well especially by using animation as their icon and then having photographs that are abstract at times and weird at times. I found that their photography was of a very high standard and that they used a great method of keeping the reader glued to the screen as they used colloquial language but kept the flow very well. I think the members liased well in terms of what their blog is about and what exactly will be posted as their pieces were coherent and were in someway linked. The stories were well strung together and there were no major grammatical errors which seemed to a problem for most blogs. I found that all students could relate to their blogs especially to the politics story talking about the daunting 45 minutes in politics 1 lecture’s throughout the term with professor Vale. There was also a variety of stories as they covered nature and fun topics and also serious stories like pollution. Very well done to the team I was very impressed with this blog I certainly do hope they did apply for journalism 2 as they truly deserve to be there next year. Very very Well done guys!!!!

A blog that I simply couldn’t believe was managed by journ 1 students is http://www.thenumber42ispurple.com wow I really found that their blog was very well done, the style of writing and even the choice of words that they used was great. They enhanced the theme of Maya mystery which is their opening piece very well especially by using animation as their icon and then having photographs that are abstract at times and weird at times. I found that their photography was of a very high standard and that they used a great method of keeping the reader glued to the screen as they used colloquial language but kept the flow very well. I think the members liased well in terms of what their blog is about and what exactly will be posted as their pieces were coherent and were in someway linked. The stories were well strung together and there were no major grammatical errors which seemed to a problem for most blogs. I found that all students could relate to their blogs especially to the politics story talking about the daunting 45 minutes in politics 1 lecture’s throughout the term with professor Vale. There was also a variety of stories as they covered nature and fun topics and also serious stories like pollution. Very well done to the team I was very impressed with this blog I certainly do hope they did apply for journalism 2 as they truly deserve to be there next year. Very very Well done guys!!!!

Seethe on what view?

Reviewing blogs of other first-year journalism students seemed like a daunting idea at first but then again it gave one the opportunity what other bloggers had in mind and what fresh they brought to the table.

The list of the blogs to choose from was too much of course since there are a lot of students studying journalism at Rhodes University this year. As I scrapped through the list I saw a rather interesting name for a blog titled http://rant-a-view.blogspot.com. There I was asking myself what are those bloggers seething about? they were probably seething about everything that is going on around the country and having a blog where freedom of expression is the way foward. The content of the blog is amazing but then the colour of the backgroung is dark-blue, now the reader feels compelled to get closer to the computer screen in order to read what is going on in the blog since the font colour is dark.

The blog is well written indeed, all the bloggers of Rant-a-view have a good level of professionalism; they all use clean English and maintain the lucidity. The pictures as well are remarkable and they carry a lot of weight in making the blog attractive, although I still feel that the name of the blog should be changed because it opposes the purpose of the whole blog but generally, the blog is superb.

Blind, under the cover

I never thought of this in my life time until today, when I told to do something I never did. Well my experience was quote out the hook meaning impossible to cope with it. I decide to do it by supper time, from my res to dinning hall I walked with my friend, the whole tension of people looking at me strangely I was can feel it, some people were asking question and laughing.
The inner truth is that it was not fun at all while it was meant to be fun, something I have learnt was, if you’re not born blind, life is not easy for by any chance. I have to dependent to my friend for that time, the feeling of smelling the food that you cannot see but you have eat them it hurts and other thing is that I was suspicious that people will do something to my food or do things that I cannot be able to see or hear them. After the experience I have concluded to take my spare time to spend time with blind people because that is another thing that I never done in my life.

Is sex as simple as a flea bite, as essential as a vegetable, or as precious as India's jewels?

Nomashawekazi Damasane

I was dumbfounded when my friend told me the name of their blog. FLAMING TESTICLES! I could not even ask why that name was chosen. The name does not seem to say anything about journalism and one would think that it is a blog done by a group of perverted guys but such is not the case. They are a blog that targets students on the most important issue their ‘sexuality’ and journalism Is the tool in which they will be able to tell the truth about such matters. They are a blog that deals with many issues that face present students and those still yet to come to university, they talk about sex and alcohol in ways that get make you want to make a decision and become a leader in your own life. Their aim is not to sugar coat the truth about such matters they aim to talk and reveal about all and from what the blog has shown they have not disappointed. Flaming Testicles is one blog that each student needs to read and interact with, they even call their followers ‘testes’ now that is something that gets one interested in getting involved with the crazy Testicles writers. They are flaming as their name suggests and flaming they will continue to be.

Seconds Here I Come!!

By Nomashawekazi Damasane

I decided to try something new in an area that I love and that is staying in the dining hall from 12.05pm to 14.00pm. This was not going to be a difficult task I thought to myself as I love my food and had friends who wanted to share the experience with me. Why did I choose this most random moment well its simple, I just wanted to see why people will stay in the dining hall for that long as well see the different eating habits of students and the various social circles. The Oppidan dining hall is full of interesting characters; every one has got one thing to say about either the food or about the guy or girl seated at the next table. As my friends and I were having our lunch we noticed how people made the dining hall feel like it was at their house. Not many people were in a rush to eat and leave, they ate like the French…who gave the impression that they were enjoying every single bite. In my mind I wondered how long people are willing to stay in there and too my surprise the numbers in the dining hall did not dwindle, it seemed as if people had shifts as there was almost the same number of people at every half hour, new faces but same vision. By 13.50 I was gob-smacked to see the number of people who went up for seconds-the highlight of eating in the dining hall was having SECONDS!

Straightforward and to the point

It took me 30 to 50 minutes to find an interesting blog just by reading their Manifestos, finally and showily I found a blog that is straight to the point and straightforward. We start right with their name, its say read me now not please. They named their blog as “I Have No Idea ….Ignorance is no Bliss. Get an Idea” this is their title of their blog, which lead to the point of there view that First year have no idea and the question is, about what? And of course is about the Journalism skills, blogging and the whole lot of skills about being young journalists. Forget the grammar, their colour of their blog, some of the posts we cannot see read properly because of the font colour text they used.
The group have been honest about themselves that they cannot read to save their lives, especially newspapers and other things but here they are writing about things that affect them and think people should know about. Their blog is unique and very limited to some issues such as news headline that are happening on radio or T.V right now but rather they focus on what they think people should know and get an idea what is all about. The write of styling they used is not tricky at all; they don’t use big words that you have to refer to dictionary to understand the story. The truth is they can write and create story of their own through their interests of what is news to them.

Umm well this is awkward

When asked to review a blog of another group of journalism students in my year, I thought oh yay, another fun task in the last week of lectures and tutorials. Well I was taken aback by the most amazing blogs that people have done. I really felt so bad about my efforts after seeing what others had done. You know I must give to my fellow students, some blogs where really incredible and very interesting.

What fun would a review be if it said only nice things? That is why I decided to speak about a blog called RU Scandalous. I felt like I was going onto the page of goth gossip girl when I first looked at it. The blog is very informative on models and actresses, as well as a few famous faces of South Africa’s political world. I must say that the members of the blog were honest and they said that scandal is what they would be writing about. I do however believe that it is not the angle they should have gone for since I can pick up a heat magazine anywhere around town. I think the aim of these blogs was supposed to be an expression of one’s self and I do not think that you can do that by talking about scandal. I think that scandal is an easy way to get people’s attention; perhaps they should have used their own voices and writing to attract readers.

xoxo

Taking on a new postition.

Last week I decided to try out something new. Yoga was my new adventure and I can truly say that it is an experience I will be carrying on with for as long as I can. Yoga has always seemed like such an abstract thing to do. I have always been interested in trying it out but have never really had the money, since it is quite pricey. A friend of mine and her mother invited me to join them for yoga at their house; where a yoga instructor did private lessons with them. I thought it was a great idea since the price was reasonable and I had always wanted to. Lit up the candles set the mood in their living room and the green and blue yoga mats were laid out. Yoga is a Hindu practice and very spiritual; it feels refreshing and not weird though. We use the Hindu names when referring to the positions and we do the whole meditation “OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHMMMMMMMMMMMMM” thing to. I have actually learned a lot about Hindu culture from the yoga instructor and it is really interesting the way that you learn to control your body and give so much time and effort to the body and its wonders.

Yoga feels as if you are giving something back to your body for all the hard work it does for you. You do it with your mind and body and no one else. There is a peace that flows over you and I have never felt so relaxed. The stretches are difficult and the body gets a work out but the strain that your muscles go through is wonderful. You twist in ways that not even a pretzel could but it is such an amazing feeling when you are finished a session.

over 100 in film industry sign Polanski petition

Over 100 in film industry sign Polanski petition
http://www.indiewire.com/article/over_100_in_film_community_sign_polanski_petition/P0/
Roman Polanski was arrested in Switzerland in relation to a rape charge that had occurred 20 years ago for having unlawful sex with a minor. Visual and performance artists signed a petition urging the Swiss police to let roman Polanski go as this does not constitute as rape because the victim did not look her age and she was intoxicated and wanted to sleep with Roman. This to me is a great shock! How can they sign a petition for a man who forced himself onto a minor and thereafter knew he was guilty and fled the country? If he was innocent and had not raped that young girl then he would have stayed in America and fought for justice to be served but because he knew he was guilty he fled. There are no records of him acknowledging that what he did was wrong all he did was to brag about while hiding from the police like a coward and whine about how unfair the this was to him, because it’s all about him right?.
Secondly the mere fact that Roman used the excuse of the girl looking more “mature” than her age does not change anything because regardless of her age if he had forced himself onto a 45 year old, it would still constitute as rape. It’s even worse to think that the victim was intoxicated as alcohol does hinder ones senses and relaxes one’s body making it easy for people to take advantage of you, Judging by her age her alcohol tolerance must have been very low at the time, meaning she was totally drunk and when asked if she wants to have sex murmured and mumbled a few words which Roman constitutes as consent, however only if the victim had said YES would it then count! Even if the victim had tried to fight him and escape it was impossible as she was drunk and he was obviously stronger than him. If Roman is such a man of integrity as all the Hollywood actors make him out to be why then would he give a minor alcohol and yes people can say she didn’t look her age she looked 17 not 13 still 17 is still a minor.
The petition is just a group of friends who want to save a dear friend and considering it would be absurd. If this was another random man everyone’s response would have been “put him away, he deserves to rot in prison” why should the law be any different for celebrities? Does money and fame make you stand above the law? Surely any other guy who raped a 13 year old would not be given a second chance.
The bottom line for me is renege of plea bargains is 100% legal however fleeing charges is 100% illegal and is an illustration of guilt!

Fat cats milk millions

The South African goverment has drastically changed since the post apartheid has seized. Drawing back to the time where the government was predominately white, there were not many cases of corruption within the government itself at that time. Since Nelson Mandela took over as the president of the country in 1994, it was 'open sesame' for most of the black comrades to become part of the government.

Ever since egalitarianism has been the ideology of being a true South African citizen, government had an influx of black people from cabinet ministers to government officials have absolute power which has corrupted them absolutely. The thing is that all the cabinet ministers and other government officials get paid more than enough to feed their families but they still act like unruly hounds and milk extra millions that are supposed to help flourish the country, be it in infrastructure or funding for organizations. According to the Democratic Alliance (DA) which at this phase seems like the only party alarmed about the over-spending by the MPs and government officials, wasteful spending now stands at R318-million for only a period of four months, which is off one's rocker.

Most of the ministers and their deputies get innumerable money and luxurious items such as cars and estate agents for zilch. Judging by the amount of work they do to develop the country, it's quite unfair that they still have the audacity to spend millions without exceptional results on the table.

Tutors are better than Lecturers

Lectures give us assignments, essay and tests to do within a small amount of time and the question is do they care about what we are going through? I don’t think so. Particularly for first year, they have to agree that tutors are more helpful than their lectures because if we ask them, how many times they attend lectures per week, majority will be once or twice but if we ask how many tutorials did they miss this term, and it will be none. This shows the importance of how tutorials are helpful than lectures, how many of us in the lectures can we stick up our hands if we don’t understand what the lectures is explaining. That attitude give lectures wrong impression about our understanding.
Tutors mark and comment on our work and if your performance was very low, they call you and talk to you about the performance and they are willing to help you at anytime, than lectures who you have to send e- mails or setup a meeting before you can find help. You found out that tutors knows you better than our lecturers and they know entire student name expect asking them and other thing about the tutors is that they can understand your pressure, workload that you are going through. Tutors they are the right people to speak to when you are in need and if your are scared to approach someone who does not even know your name, and they are willing to help with smile and heartkinded attitude.

The name behind the label.

What is in a name? Most people get quite excited when finding a shop that sells knock- off Ed Hardy shirts that look identical to the pricey genuine ones. Often we find opportunities where we can purchase cheap phony designer clothes of the latest and most popular labels. These knock-offs are usually manufactured in eastern countries. When once in Thailand, everywhere I looked was DNKY, Diesel, Gucci and the list goes on. Even though they were fake, who would know the difference. Later, I found out that it was making a difference in someone else’s life...

Police raided two sweatshops in Thailand last year; both in the process of making fake Louise Vuitton bags. I was completely horrified when I heard that children, around the ages of eight and above, had been chained to tables to make bags; their legs had been broken so that they could not leave the spot they sat in day after day and they had skin diseases from not getting enough sunlight. My heart sank, I felt sick to my stomach. Most of all the fake designer clothes and accessories we buy have been made in sweatshops. Those children were freed, but what about the other hundreds of sweatshops? What about all the other suffering children? I urge everyone to never buy another fake designer label again. If there is no market for it then it will stop getting manufactured. Next time you are thinking of buying a fake, think about the real name behind that label.

judge ngoepe rescues himself

http://Zuma judge recuses himself from trial - Mail & Guardian Online: The smart news source

For months on end we were bombarded with stories on Jacob Zuma raping saga and how unfit he was to be the next president. Yet in the midst of that there was more drama taking place concerning the case which most people did not pay attention to such as Judge Ngoepe stepping down as presiding officer of the case. Judge Ngoepe realised that this case was too much for him and in order for him to be safe he would rather step down as the presiding officer in Zuma’s case, it was also discovered that he didn’t preside out of his own will but because his deputy presiding officers suggested that he chairs the case as this was a “high-profile trial” and not a “pleasant matter". Zuma’s attorney seems to have had a hold against the judges as the judge was caught in between serving justice or maintaining his reputation to the public and ensuring safety for his family knowing how feral zuma’s supporters could get at times. This leads me to question whether firstly South Africa’s justice system is up to standard or not as Judge Ngoepe could have continued with the case and if necessary sentence Jacob Zuma accordingly but instead he chose to step down which to me highlighted incompetency on his side and a lack of security for South African law workers and if this means every time a high profile case comes up law workers of that level will always crumble down and not show that they are fit and proper as it is a requirement for all law workers admitted into the bar. This article also highlighted that was Mr Zuma cleared simply because he was the next president and no judge wanted to be known as the judge that sentenced him or does the south African law cater for certain people only as rules can be bent for certain people like Mr Jacob Zuma. The defence also ,used this to their advantage especially because they had fans cheering for Zuma outside singing “umshini wami” (bring my gun), which is a warfare song that was named South Africa’s second anthem. No judge in their right state of mind would have sentenced Zuma under the circumstances mentioned leading to a very blunt yet necessary question was justice served and does South Africa have any competent workers in the law field if yes where were they during this trial? Will South Africa always be faced with this issue??

I spy with my little eye!

http://www.dispatch.co.za/article.aspx?id=352953
It has been a very heated weekend at Fort Hare with many Zimbabwean students loosing their scholarships because they publicly vowed their allegience to the MDC party of Zimbabwe. Manyo of these students are on the Presidential scholarship and suddenly they have been stripped of their had-earned scholarships. It has been said that there Mugabe's spies on the campus watching every Zimbabweans move and making sure they identify those that are anti-ZANU. These spies have been a common feature on Zimbabwe's streets but one never thought that they would be found on campus'. Students have been protesting on their lost of scholarships but a spokesperson said it was due to the fact that they violated a clause that they are not meant to be politically active.
The question now is don't these students have a right to profess who they are loyal to especially if they are not on home ground? If students have societies or leagues for their parties such as the ANC or COPE youth leagues surely on a campus that has the high number of Zimbabwean students they should be allowed to have either MDC or ZANU PF youth leagues. We are in a era were the country is being run on a inclusive government, yet again one should not forget where their bread is buttered Accepting the Presidential Scholarhsip meant that you have an allegience to the government as well as the party that is in charge, so this is a very difficult situation as one has to determine what is important to risk losing an opportunity for an education or to be loyal to those that grant them the opportunity to be where they are.

Santana divides Safa brass

http://www.citypress.co.za/Content/Sport/News/2173/22cd3f1a7dfa486a8d40b313b969053d/18-10-2009-02-00/Santana_divides_Safa_b
BAFANA Bafana coach Joel ­Santana has caused divergent views within the South African Football Association (Safa) leadership. There have been speculations about the Bafana coach being fired since the team lost six international friendlies in a row. The game against Iceland on the 13th of October 2009 has caused a stir to many South African football lovers. The article shows the argument between Safa CEO(Raymond Hack) , Joel Santana and the new Safa president (Kirsten ­Nematandani) seen that probably most football fans would want to see the coach sacked but then again Safa cannot fire him because the Soccer World Cup is impending. In my viewpoint, the article is informing the fellow South African soccer fanatics that Joel Santana still has the chance to prove to Safa and the fans that he can lead Bafana Bafana to the World Cup with satisfying results.
The fact that Santana has drastically changed the squads tactics, most of the fanatics complain that his tactics are too defensive thus Bafana finds it hard to even score a single goal. Safa has appointed three assessors of Santana, namely Jomo Sono, Clive Barker and Gavin Hunt to assess Santana’s tactics; as Nemantandani said “we will ask one of them to take us through it for guidance.”
If Joel Santana gets fired, this might not come as bolt from the blue because since he has been appointed as coach of South Africa it is as if the squad won’t even reach the second round of the 2010 Soccer World Cup and which will mean embarrassment to the host country.

News documetary

Not an easy road for Caster
http://www.citypress.co.za/Content/SouthAfrica/News/2168/e3984c3567544a68b1032f65c35883c6/15-10-2009-02-00/Semenya_too_traumatised_to_write_exams
There was a lot going on about caster Semenya lately, the gender testing was too much for her, until now he cannot handle it anymore. Caster Semenya is now unable to write her exam because of the result about gender testing or should I say sex testing. Just you thought your life is going to change for good but for Caster, life is not running according to achievement anymore. We thought she will recover from the matter but it seems that the situation is even worse now to her. She has to leave school because she cannot write exam, apparently because the whole situation of being exposed to public and humiliated by people who did not even know her, life now is not simple.
We cannot blame her for not being able to write her exam, the problem she is facing right now is too broad and too much to handle for teenage girl who just experience life of university and have no idea about circumstance of life. How can you concentrate about your school, while the whole nation even the whole world is concern with you being a girl or a boy, she was unfairly treat by his people from her own country and the rest of the world. Studying in this kind of situation is leading to a failure examination.
I feel like the country even the media must do something about this, that will make her proud and needed.

Shifting the blame.

In the late hours of last Sunday evening a woman was shot dead by police. The car the woman was driving in was thought to be hijacked; the police spotted the car and chased after it. Apparently when the car did not stop, after asking them to pull over, police fired at the car, shooting a woman in the head and injuring two others.

An article was written,”'Shoot to kill' cops: A mother's anguish” on 13 October. Honestly, this article is inadequate to be on the Times Live web page. The article consists of quotes from shaken up members of the family and emotional members of the incident, threatening the police and politicians. They have even asked Zuma to apologize, asking him to take the blame. I think what the police did was horrifying and there is no question that they should be punished; but not the president though. Unduly the article makes out as if the incident is Zuma’s fault.

Our president recently had a meeting in which he urged police to take lethal action if they were in danger but to not be “trigger happy”, which was stated in a more fair-minded article: “No ‘Shoot to Kill’ order”. This article is an even-handed look at both sides of the story and contains appropriate quotes; unlike the other article, which also included a series of one worded quotes. I think that blaming Zuma and setting an article out to look as though he should be made accountable for the incident is ludicrous.

Few days left for JMS2 application (all the best)

Its happen on the 13 October 2009 this Tuesday. people who want to continue with journalism have to apply for second year otherwise if you don't want to do JMS2 no need to. Not forgetting to tell that is a selection process out of all people who have apply JMS2, the department have to select 120 student who are qualifying to be on the next class. This is not fun at all lot of JMS1 student are nervous about this. I thought maybe this is not going to happen but i guess i was wrong until October arrive now is the time to put yourself together and take action . 120 may sound like is high number but is not trust me out of +-285 students is nothing at all. Just imagine if you have been wanted this career for your whole life then you didn't get in because of your exam marks or maybe your coursework marks(assignments,essays,tutorials etc) for the whole year pity you did not perform very well because you have just got to university and everything was frustrating and impossible to manage. This is the biggest risk that anyone who want to major in JMS is taking. After all this effort you were put in and fighting for perfection and the best for this now is going to be judgement for all. even if there are people who feel confident about their work and they have doubt about it, but some how they are praying too. The feeling that we are going through whatever we are doing is normal.yes only 120 students will make it and +-165 students will not, that the reality that we are all going to face and when is done we will accept and keep going.

All the best to people who have been working so hard for this course, to all students who always wanted to be on radio, television or anyway else and you thought journalism will put you there and to all who did not put too much effort on their vacation work and joining media societies, not how much you think you are but the truth is we all deserve to be on jms2 because we are applying by knowing that this is the reason why i am at Rhodes University. Believe in yourself and face the challenge. There is always a second chance in life to start over and learn from your mistake.

team oppi

http://www.pikistrips.com/ps/gallery/view_image/32843968

Study Tactic

Roaming donkey

You will read forever

Nomashawekazi Damasane

I am that bi-cultured and flavoured woman who has diversity wrapped around her as a blanket. This is who I am defined in one line. Snnak is one such blog as well. We are journalism students that have that extra sprinkle of salt that we want to spice the world of media with. I am writer, a journalist a blogger who wants to speak of her passions for words that are fused together to create meanings that evoke thoughts of peace, love, trauma, joy, hate; words that evoke motion, action, emotion and interaction. This blog is one that will be able to enhance that passion. I not only aim to entertain but I aim to enable people to voice their thoughts on the many and various topics or ideas that will be posted on the blog. My posts will be those that will catch any reader of any genre, I blog posts that a re musical, poetical, intellectual, politically challenging. Deal with matters of the heart as well as issues that one may never want to discuss ever again. In short it’s a blog that deals with almost every possible area of one’s life. I do not desire to set myself as one who is perceived as better knowledgeable than other bloggers I want to create an atmosphere where people are free to speak their mind to have the enjoyment of freedom of speech. I am just like everyone out there who desires a platform to voice my thoughts and what better way than to do it by blogging and at the same time allow people to see, comment, criticise and absorb. A platform where truth is the editor and where reliability is the driving force of good writings. This is what I intend and will accomplish with my blog.

This smile is for you :-)

It costs nothing-yet it means so much it enriches those who recieve it without impoverishing those who give it happens in a flash, but sometimes the memory lasts forever None are so rich that they can get on without it and none so poor, but are the richest for its benefits it is rest to the weary-daylight to the discouraged sunshine to the sad and natures best antidote in time of trouble Yet it cannot be bought-borrowed or stolen for it is something that is no earthly use to anyone unless given away and if in the rush of business a man who is too tired to give you one then leave one of yours-for -no-one needs a smile so much as those who have none to give.