I'm not sure how news worthy this really is, but Victoria Beckham is pregnant with her 4th child, hopefully a girl.
Adam Levine goes naked for the Everyman campaign in the February issue of Cosmopolitan UK (girlfriend gave him a hand!). Not that i care, but click on image for enlarged image :P
swish fulfillment n. the feeling of delicate luck after casually tossing something across the room and hitting your target so crisply and perfectly that you feel no desire to even attempt another shot, which is a more compelling argument for the concept of monogamous love than anything sung to a guitar.
From: The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows.
I've always been a fan of waxed denim, but i have in the past without fail managed to do the fatal mistake one ought to never do with waxed denim...tumble dry! The heat from the dryer basically strips the wax off the denim. Which leave them looking like ordinary jeans with a slight fade to their once glossy finish. I had an indigo pair that i nuked myself, then i learnt from my mistake, and had a grey pair that my cleaning lady diligently nuked in an attempt to do my laundry, so now i'm buying my 3rd pair, see pic attached. A friend of mine from Canada is getting this pair for me when she comes back to Cape Town next week, woot woot. Now this time i shall guard these with my good nut.
Another year gone by, a year to be proud of or just another disappointment? My year has been a mix, a few misses, but a lot of hits...and my entrance to 2011 has been positive to say the least so here's to up and beyond.....!!!!
"She Said" is the second single from Plan B's second album The Defamation of Strickland Banks - a concept album whose songs tell the fictitious tale of a sharp-suited British soul singer who finds fame with bitter-sweet love songs, but then loses everything when he ends up in prison for a crime he didn't commit. Now it’s been a while since I posted a song of the week, hell it’s been a while since I posted period, but I came across this song, and liked it, but after reading the concept of the entire album, I then LOVED it; it also doesn’t hurt that Plan B’s voice is not nearly as shoddy as his stage name, in fact it’s quite brilliant and he knows how to use it to draw out emotion, even the rap sections don’t feel odd. The album basically tells the story from the first-hand perspective of Strickland Banks, a fictional character played by Plan B. The album's opening tracks, "Love Goes Down" and "Writing's on the Wall", are love songs sung by Strickland Banks at a concert, and are likely to be about his girlfriend, to whom he refers later in the album. "Stay Too Long" follows him and his entourage as they celebrates the success of his concert with a night out which culminates in him having a one night stand with a woman. In "She Said" we learn that this woman is obsessed with his music and believes herself to be in love with him. He rejects her so she alleges that he raped her. The subsequent trial results in his incarceration and in "Welcome to Hell" he is sent to prison, and much of the rest of the album is about his experience inside prison, isolation, abuse, etc. This results in his abuse at the hands of other prisoners, resulting in him purchasing a shiv on the prison black market throughout the course of "Traded In My Cigarettes". In "Prayin'" he is confronted by another prisoner who attacks him. With the help of another inmate Strickland kills the attacker in self-defense, with the other inmate taking the blame, and is burdened with this guilt during "Darkest Place". The penultimate tracks, "Free" and "I Know A Song" detail initially his anger, then his acceptance of his life inside prison. The last track, "What You Gonna Do" Strickland is in court again as new evidence has been brought up on his case. The album finishes with the listener not sure of whether he is sent back to prison or released, leaving it open to interpretation. I can’t even give any commentary on ‘She Said’ besides that it must be heard.
I know I've been pretty bad with posting this month, very lazy month, which is strange because September has been a very busy month, lots of newsworthy things went down, but i just couldnt find time to put it all down. And is it me or is everyone born in September, i mean I alone know over 30 Virgos that are born this month ALONE, also there are a lot of things that are important in September, the Vogue September issue as well as all well established fashion publications, the September issue is the most important publication of the year, and also New York, London & Milan Fashion Weeks also take place in September, AND and and I am born in September as well :-D ....weatherwise in South Africa, September marks the start of spring, which means summer is in the offing, and there is nothing like summer in South Africa, especially in Cape Town, or am i just being biased :-P
Ever asked yourself how Naomi Campbell, who's 40 still manages to look this stunning...if you thought i was gonna go all deep and talk about her hand in the whole blood diamonds thing, well you were wrong i'm just gushing about the supermodel's fabulosity at a ripe age..
.Ok perhaps i need to delve even a little on the blodd diamond trial against Charles Taylor, former leader of Sierra Leone (i'm glad i can actually spell that) accused of using blood diamonds to fund early 90's civil war in the country...he apparently gave Naomi some uncut stones, woot woot, back in 97 when they had been at a dinner party at Nelson Mandela's house, but she opted not to keep them and gave them away to a charity, so I dont know what else is expected of her....she is clean people and with a body like that wouldnt you also wanna throw stones at her?
I've dined at Blonde more than half a dozen times in a space of less than a month, so from this it is clear to deduce that i really like it. The food i find extremely good, with one major disappointment, consistency, for my first 4 visits, I had the Trio of duck, purely because it was so good, the 4th time i had it, i was with a big group that i recommended the same dish to, and i was mortified at how different and underwhelming it tasted - on this visit even my starter of white onion valoute, which i had enjoyed previously was very bland, i dont know whether the chef was not in, but i was very unhappy - I tasted the crayfish tail from one of the attendees and it was tough, again i had tasted this on my previous visits and it had tasted divine, so consistency is an issue at Blonde. All in all i still love their food. The decor is obviously lovely, only thing i dont like is the naked wooden ceiling in the bar, i understand it is the original pine flooring from 112 years ago, but it looks out of place or as if they forgot about it. and lastly I was meant to organise a dinner for some foreign officials and i recommended Blonde and was rejected, we ended up at Aubergine next door, and again i had a very important business dinner with an international investor who at first refused, politely of course, to go to Blonde, but i insisted and put my neck on the chopping board that it was a good restaurant, now i have managed to find out the reasons for these two encounters - the tacky name! Blonde? People look at me with blank stares when i tell them we should dine at Blonde, the name seems to evoke a perception of kitsch, cheap, over fussy & gaudy hotel bar with busty stewardesses - this is obviously not my option as i can see beyond the name since i've been there already, but to an extend i see where people are coming from, they could have carried on the
Caviar theme and called it Osetra, seeing as they already have Beluga & Sevruga! There are a few other noteworthy quirks like the fact that the menu says 'Nothing but Pepenero' at the bottom, which to me reads like a thinly veiled jab at the other restaurant group that owns Pepenero, Kove, Parange etc, anway the main thing for the consumer which is great value is that while the restaurant already had great food, consistent or not, they are also running a special; everything is half priced - including wine, yeah i know right - so go try it, very little to lose, you might be impressed like i was on 5 of the 6 visits. And i've excused the one bad visit, and went again and it was delightful, which is why I'm going back there again this Thurs. Anyway for anyone who is able to look past the tacky name, i highly recommend this restaurant!
South africa's Bafana Bafana just scored the first goal for the 2010 FIFA world cup tournament - this is HUGE, first goal was by Siphiwe Tshabalala on pic. we are hosting it AND scoring the openner - it really IS here now. Be proud, this is one nation that has come far.
Ok so the 2010 Soccer World Cup is only days away from kick off - and today there was a celebration at 12h00, everyone was to join together in the gees and blow the Vuvuzelas at the same time - and attached is a pic of folks in JHB, Sandton doing their bit for the gees.
One doesn’t often think of Sea Point when considering good dining places, with the exception of the new Duchess of Wisbeach and the wonderful Posticino, which I’ve loved for years now, and their consistency keeps me going there time and time again, drools, ok back to Sea Point, so now late last year when I discovered La Boheme, I was most pleased, partly for it being somewhat Parisian and more importantly having great food at such modest prices. La Boheme is owned and run by Faisal, better known for his tenure as manager at the fabulous Caveau in Heritage Square; the restaurant is linked to his partner’s Spanish café, La Bruixa on Sea Point Main Road. The space is a mixture of comfortable, urban minimalist accented with some browns and a touch of Parisian bistro appeal with an open kitchen. Defined by its owners as both a bistro and wine bar, it comes as expected that they offer a moderately long list of 60 wines available by the glass. La Boheme’s charm continues with their modestly priced menu, they are currently running a special till the end of the year, which I think is amazing value for money, two courses for R90 and three at R110 – for good, flavoursome and well prepared bistro style food. The menu presented on black boards, (some stodgy people might argue Faisal is copying the way they do it at Caveau, but I saw it more as a homage), is not long, which is a good thing as I feel it allows the kitchen to focus on producing consistently good dishes. On my first visit I tried their liver parfait as well as the beef fillet with mushroom risotto, both convinced me the restaurant was worthy for an encore, everyone who was part of our dining party was thoroughly pleased with their meals as well. On my 2nd and more recent visit for mains I tried their pork belly with poached apples, the dish was lovely, except I didn’t care for the use of apple, I would much prefer a poached pear with the pork, but perhaps pears are not in season…hmm. Either way La Boheme has won me over to become one of my neighbourhood favourite places to frequent. La Boheme. 341 Main, corner Main and Albany, Sea Point. 021 434 8797 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 021 434 8797 end_of_the_skype_highlighting, lunch & dinner – closed on Sundays.
Some of you will remember last year I posted a list of all the restaurants around the Cape that were offering winter specials (Cape Town Winter Special 2009), well its that time of the year again. Except with the official World Cup season starting next month a lot of these specials are not running for the duration of winter like last year, this time some of them are ending beginning of June, which is a shame for the poor locals on a budget, but with a penchant for fine dining on a shoe string. I must say even I have been done in by the recession, this year I've been quite a fan of the specials myself, so I will follow up with reviews of the ones I've tried, will tell you which ones are worth the bucks and which are basically scams, yes there are a few of those. This is the most comprehensive list of specials, way more than even eatout will give you ;), also you will notice my focus is on restaurants in town (cape town) and the immidiate surroundings, I'll make another list featuring restaurants around the outskirts, winelands, karoo etc
| Restaurant | Special | Period | Location |
| 1800° | Choose between matured rib-eye, rump steak or sirloin steak for lunch or dinner for only R99. | Month of May | Cape Royale Luxury Hotel, Green Point |
| Andiamo | R 89 Breakfast special for 2, and R 125 pizza/pasta + wine for two | All winter | Old Cape Quarter |
| Ci Casa at Camil’s | 2-course lunch on Sat and Sun for R 100 + glass of bubbly, | April & May | Cape Royale Luxury Hotel, Green Point |
| Five Flies | 2-course meal reduced down to R125, 3-course dinner reduced down to R150, | Mon, Wed and Fri for the next 3 months | Rembrandt House, Keerom Street, |
| Jardine | 3 course dinner at R 150 | until end May | Bree Street |
| La Boheme Wine Bar & Bistro | 2 courses for R90 and three for R110. | May – Dec 2010 | Sea Point |
| Myoga @ The Vineyard Hotel | R150 for a six Course meal – each course you have a choice between 3 dishes. | Not listed. | Newlands |
| Nobu | Great value for haute Japanese cuisine. Bento Box offering, for only for R195. | May – Dec 6pm-11pm (Sun –Thur) & 6pm-7.30pm on Fri & Sat | V&A Waterfront |
| Pepenero | sirloin and chips R 79, seafood platter R 129, prawn platter R 99, oysters R 9 each, half-price sushi | On-going | Mouille Point |
| Sinn’s Restaurant | lunch plus a fruit cocktail at R 50, 11h00 - 16h00 | May | Wembley Square |
| The Cru Cafe | breakfast for 2 for R 85, 2 pasta dishes + 2 glasses of wine for R 119 | all days of week, lunch and dinner | New Cape Quarter |
| The Roundhouse | 7-course dinner for R 245 | May only | Camps Bay |
| Tuscany Beach | 50% off second person’s main course, and 1/2 price sushi | 12 - 6 pm | in Camps Bay |
| Sevruga | Sole dishes range from R 89 - R 180 | during April | V&A Waterfront |
| Vanilla | 50% off second person’s main course, and 1/2 price sushi | 12 - 6 pm | New Cape Quarter |
| Wang Thai | half-price sushi and cocktails | Mon – Thur 12pm – 6pm | V&A Waterfront, Constantia. |
