Bethlehemian Rhapsody

This video was first posted on YouTube on 7 Jan 2009, yet I only saw it the say before Christmas this year, sent via WhatsApp. It's a great parody. Enjoy! You can also download it (without captions) on http://www.puppetunes.com/

Why should we vote? Is it a waste of time?

Given the level of dishonsty and corruption in our political system, should we vote? George Carlin says no. At varsity some wag wrote on a ballot box: "Don't vote, you'll only encourage them". My friend Roman Cabanac has another take on the matter, from a South African point of view. Read his post and leave comments there. Comments here are closed.

How Gullible Can You Get?

This infomercial really tests the limits of gullibility. What you really need to use is LastPass. It's a brilliant piece of software and it really is as secure as it's ever going to get. Thanks to the Security Now podcast for this one, and for the "capcha" below:

The Last Word on the 2012 US Presidential Election

Some of the few honest moments of the US Presidential Election farce came from the Gregory Brothers on YouTube.

Why I love Madam and Eve

I love Madam and Eve, especially their week of cartoons page. They manage to remain topical and funny, and often make the politicians look even sillier than they are in real life. That takes some doing! (Click on the images to read each cartoon in more detail)

Star Wars Day

May 4th is Star Wars Day. Think about it, then say the date out loud. ;-) Thanks to the guys at the Daily Maverick for this one, as well as Wookiepedia.

Apple Fanboys Being Mocked

I guess the Apple reality distortion field won't last forever. I don't know if I'll get a smartphone, but if I do, it won't be an Apple product. Not after they way they treated me in the past.

A Clever History of the English Language

Who says Hollywood never has an original movie trailer?

Thanks to the Listening Post for this one, and Jerm for finding it.
Also, coming soon to this blog: the true story of a building contractor and the customer who finally had enough. I have all the relevant court documents and will post them in WikiLeaks style, but with names redacted to protect the guilty from themselves.

Pray for Our President Zuma, Julius Malema, and Robert Mugabe

Noseweek is a wonderful source of news and information about our politicans. So I giggled when I read the following letter in the latest issue:

In slow-moving traffic, I noticed a rear windscreen sticker on the car in front of us, which read: Pray for Our President Zuma, Julius Malema, and Robert Mugabe. Psalm 109:8.
My husband's Bible was on the dashboard. He opened it to Psalm 109 and burst out laughing. It reads: Let his days be few; and let another take his office.
Let us all bow our heads and pray.
Beatrice

There is also a heart-warming story about a guy in the Eastern Cape doing his best to thwart corruption in the Health service.

My Blackberry isn't working

This is the modern day version of the parrot skit. Brilliant!

Man's Best Friend

Thanks to Jeremy Nell for making my day with this one ;-)

Salander's T-Shirt Slogans

I love Stieg Larsson's Millenium Trilogy for various reasons, such as Salander's hacking abilities. But I also think her T-shirt slogans are amazing.

Salander was dressed for the day in a black T-shirt with a picture on it of E.T. with fangs, and the words
"I am also an Alien"

Then there is:
"Armageddon Was Yesterday — Today We Have a Serious Problem."
"I Can Be a Regular Bitch. Just Try Me"
"Kill Them All and Let God Sort Them Out"
"Consider This A Fair Warning"
"You Have The Right To Remain Silent"
and in classic understatement at her trial,
"I Am Annoyed"
The audio books are fantastic, and are well narrated. I can thoroughly recommend them

20h10 20-October 2010 plans?

I'm not a clock watcher, nor do I think that anything particularly significant happens at midnight on 1st January. Still, I decided it might be fun to do something significant on Wednesday evening, given the unusual pattern of numbers in the date: 20:10 20/10/2010. I'd be interested to know what other readers will do, or did.
Update: We spent a pleasant evening having dinner at the Cape Town Fish Market restaurant. Both the food and the service was great.

Memories of the World Cup

Nik Rabinowitz - South African Comedian - talks about the USA vs England match.

If only this really happened

This is one really cool video. If only politicians really did this.

Cell C PR Lies Exposed

I always thought Trevor Noah was a funny guy. And his clip (above) about mobile operator Cell C is right on the mark. But there is a problem with this YouTube clip: it's a PR setup that was planned months ago.

The domain name telltrevor.co.za was registered by the Cell C ad agency on Wednesday 23/06/2010 18:27:09 SAST, even though the site was only announced in the media today. And the clip on YouTube was uploaded a week ago by "BobbyT" on Wednesday July 28th, just in time for a full page ad in last week's Sunday Times where the CEO of Cell C refers to it. The ad refers to Trevor's Facebook page, which doesn't have the video.

Update: Trevor's YouTube handle is "southafrica4you". It seems that all critical comments on the YouTube page are being systematically removed. Pity they don't remove the positive responses. It starts looking a bit obvious.
This week the full page ads in the Sunday Times announce how Trevor has suddenly been appointed "CEO" of Cell C in response to his complaint about Cell C, and disgruntled customers can go to the "new" www.telltrevor.co.za web site. This is bogus since the "response" site was planned a month before the video appeared on YouTube. A "bizarre turn of events" indeed. To make matters worse, the "complaints" section of the site wasn't working. See below.

So even if you wanted to complain, you can't, because the site is broken. It's just a load of PR double-speak, written by the spin-doctors at an ad agency. How much more bogus can you get? They clearly haven't read the ClueTrain Manifesto, which explains why consumers just don't buy that kind of insincerity and spin any more.
Update: Their "4Gs" network is actually only a 3G network. HSPA+ is not advanced enough to be classified as 4G. Most consumers have no idea of the difference.

And then there's the small matter of the new Cell C logo. Last time I checked it wasn't possible to trademark the © symbol, since it is a common typographical symbol that has been around for years. Yet the CELL©™ ads clearly show a large © with a ridiculous ™ next to it. What are these fools trying to do? Make idiots of themselves? Which CIPRO bureaucrat did they have to bribe to get that one through, or do they just put the ™ sign wherever they feel like it?
So while the sentiment "the power is in your hands" may be a noble one, the power to complain about Cell C doesn't belong to them or their ad agency. It still belongs to the consumer, and Cell C manAGEment is still in their ivory tower getting it wrong. And the blogosphere is NOT impressed:

Cell C, Trevor Noah and the cunning stunt that got everyone talking | Trevor Noah and Cell C | Cell C – The Joke is on YOU | Cell C and Noahgate. Some lessons. | Cell C is ‘astroturfing.’ What a joke! | Cell C’s new clothes | Cell C and Trevor Noah – I’ll see for myself! | HelloPeter rating of Cell C for the past 12 months | Cell C re-invented? Brand, social media and legal specialists are not so sure | Why do you think I’m stupid, Cell C? | Why Cell C's latest ad is a #brandfail | Cell C - cosmetic makeover or real deal? | Noah-gate: Lessons learned from Cell C’s controversial ad campaign | Cell C’s campaign divides public opinion | Don't get Caught!!!

I tried calling the Cell C "Legal Department" but was put through to the wrong department and then stayed on hold for 10 minutes. So much for "give us a call".
Update: The reason I was trying to contact the legal department was to find out when the trademarks were registered, and the registration number. IF they have been registered (which I doubt), then South Africa will become the first country in the world to trademark a typographical symbol. How ironic that it would be the Copyright symbol! Oh, the shame and embarassment at such obvious incompetence! Only in Africa.

Update: It seems that their logo isn't particularly original either:

Update 18th August: Andy Rice and Jenny Crwys-Williams chatted to Andre Lombaard of Ogilvy, the agency responsible for the TellTrevor campaign. It seems Ogilvy are so used to lying they will tacitly admit it.

Click this player to listen to the show or download the mp3 extract from their show.

BP Spills Coffee

This is what happens when BP spills coffee.

Clever Beer Commercial

This ad has been showing on TV during the world cup. Personally I think it is one of the best commercials I have seen, because it is highly entertaining and visual. I have been wondering which beer brand was used, but it doesn't matter in the end.

SA Politics in a nutshell

Trevor Hoah is brilliant. He summarises the SA political media circus so well.