Nkaaaaandla: Constitutional Court edition
The saga that is known as Nkaaaaandla (or part one/two of the Nkaaaandla saga, like The Lord of the Rings but only longer) was all over the media like the gentle tide covering a speck of sand on Fish Hoek beach (It’s really great for families … we get around a lot).
The Constitutional Court on Thursday handed down its ruling, which in a nutshell said President Jacob Zuma and Parliament had both been very, very bad, among other stuff, and that the president would have to pay back the money, including costs for his "firepool".
Cue the tidal wave of analysis, comment, talking heads, and speculation about what will happen next. Never have the words “could”, “might”, “possibly”, and “likely” appeared in so much purportedly serious political discussion.
This is in the same week respected academic Steven Friedman posted on
Facebook that he will cut down on availability to news outlets because the media has little interest in serious, thoughtful political analysis. We don’t blame him.
Sad Affleck v Superman
Speaking of blame, critics across the film world have lambasted Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice for its lack of plot coherence, characterisation and heaps of other things. We doubt many of those who have gone to see it actually care about that stuff, and are more interested in seeing Batman fight Superman (who isn’t? Like, come on).
Amidst all the critical bluster (and that Turkish Airlines campaign promoting Gotham and Metropolis as destinations), a video surfaced of Ben Affleck during an interview with co-star Henry Cavill looking particularly miserable, supposedly about all those crappy reviews. The Internet never fails to take the mickey out of others (supposed) miseries.
Here is the
link. It's worth it, especially the comments section.
J. Cole is on his way to Jozi for one night only
Hip hop fans in Johannesburg got a huge high five this week with the news that acclaimed/self-acclaimed king of modern hip hop, J. Cole, is on his way to Jozi for a one-night-only performance at the Ticketpro Dome on June 18.
Cole has been to South Africa before, performing at the Big Brother Africa season seven opening ceremony in 2012 - a rather odd introduction to performing live in a country.
The only downside is for those not living Johannesburg, Cole is not going further than Egoli. His talent is indisputable, so let’s hope, and the signs are good on this front, that Mr Cole doesn’t feel the need to post pictures on social media of being on “safari”.
The media and April Fools' Day
Every April 1, also known as April Fools' Day, local media dabbles in the area of comedy, aiming to tickle the funny bone of their audience with fake stories. Our thoughts on this mirror author
Tom Eaton’s, but having studied what’s out there on this auspicious day, we’ve picked out a few attempts at intentional media comedy, often an oxymoron:
- Evita Bezuidenhout announcing President Jacob Zuma’s resignation (eNCA)
- President Jacob Zuma deciding to study a BCom to outdo Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema, who actually, for realises, was awarded a BA by Unisa this week (TimesLive)
- Licenses to be introduced for bicycle users on public roads in Cape Town (our favourite… It would make a dent in the obnoxious people who love to show off their calves, in spandex, at cafes across the country). (IOL)