Phuthu Stay Phut, Don't go!

Right, seeing as though we have lots of of tourists in our country right now, who are probably in need of a little enlightenment with regards to our beautiful divers languages and cultures, I thought that a test on South African slang might be appropriate this week.

A. Flossie

1. A girlfriend.
2. A  term of endearment for a small, cute toddler.
3. A prostitute.

B. Jollie patrollie

1. An affectionate term for the police.
2. To go for a joy-ride in search of the perfect party.
3. A kids TV programme featuring puppets and songs.

C. Kwerekwere

1. An affectionate term for a girlfriend.
2. A stranger to a township.
3. A musician.

D. Skrik

1. Incredibly wealthy.
2. A haunted house.
3. To get a fright.

E. Technicoloured yawn

1. A rainbow.
2. A tired chameleon.
3. Vomit.

We were sent an email this week informing us about a new website called www.find-design.co.za. It’s very South African and at Phuthu, you know we like anything and everything South African:

I asked for a bit more of a low-down from the creator and this is what he said:

“The site was started by a professional architect Sebastian van Greunen (www.3rdface.co.za) in a small firm in Cape Town. The biggest problem we have found is that information, whilst available, is scattered all over the web. A lot of the time we find out about new South African Design on international blogs instead of local ones. Many of the local creative blogs are also cluttered with lots of international design information that the blogger finds inspiring. None of this makes it easier to find local design information. There is plenty of local design talent that is on par with international standards, and we thought it should be easily accessible to everyone.

The main idea behind the site is to create a user friendly design database that is edited & reviewed for quality. The are plenty of directories out there, but anyone is able to add their information, which adds to the web clutter again. Each creative that is accepted gets a portfolio page with all the key info & sample work. They also get a pressroom which facilitates the easy addition of news & events to the profile and helps keep the public up to date. Public users who register on the site can review the listings, add their own news & events or even suggest good books to add to the library and  interact in the online community (although many features here are still under development).

Going forward, the intention is to list all our top creatives and become a very useful source of local design information. We are nearly finished with the job portal which will list design jobs for the various industries. Future plans include design collaborations and an upliftment program to give deserving applicants a future in design. For us design is the future. Problems are solved through good design.

The site is still in its infancy, live for only about 3 weeks and has had a wonderful response so far, but we are hoping to spread the word with proper marketing campaigns.”

Well done guys, keep up the good work and keep promoting excellent design.

Love

The Phuthu Team!

Ok, so I watched the Bafana Bafana, Uruguay game last night, please bear in mind that I am not a soccer expert; in fact this is probably the second soccer game I have seen in my adult life.

From what I could see, we played ok, we defended quite well, there was always one of our guys permanently stuck to one of their opponents, but as soon our defense got the ball away from the danger zone and close to Uruguay’s goals, there was nobody there to make the final move and actually score or strike or whatever the hell the term is. I remember watching Germany’s first game, every time they came in to score, there were at least 3 German players in formation waiting to take the shot, we had nobody.

But what really gets me about the game and soccer in general, are the Emmy Award winning performances by players of all shapes and sizes, who are in the throes of death, looking like they are experiencing most excruciating pain known to man, all in the attempt to get as many free kicks as possible, I mean, what’s up with that? Just to put it into perspective a bit, can you imagine our Springbok Captain John Smit running up to the referee, crying because the other boy pulled his hair. Come on guys, the acting is a joke, just play the game. The punishment on our goalie was because of an incident just like it, Uruguay striker went down in the penalty box, holding his knee and his face, as a result Khune our goal keeper gets sent off and Uruguay gets a penalty. Looking at the replay Luis Suarez was barely touched, he was offside’s to begin with so the penalty should never have been awarded. TMO people TMO, we use it in rugby, we use it in cricket, what’s wrong with using it in soccer too.

No host nation has ever fallen in the first round since it began in 1930, but South Africa’s crushing 3-0 defeat leaves them very likely to set that unwanted precedent. I don’t like to say it, but I think the fat lady has started her warm-up exercises.

All we can say now is, good luck in your next match guys, may the cold winter winds blow in your favour, but blast up the shorts of Le France.

Good Luck Bafana Bafana, we are still there for you.

Yesterday’s matches:

Johannesburg: Netherlands 2:0 Denmark

Bloemfontein: Japan 1:0 Cameroon

Cape Town: Italy 1:1 Paraguay

Ref: Fifa.com

Watched my man parking off in front of the TV on Friday, eyes glued to the screen. I dissected him visually like some kind of foreign species – who is this stranger in my lounge?. His thing is (or used to be, rather) rock climbing and paragliding. But he was totally into this opening match, jumping up, doing punches in the air – the whole shebang.

“Do you like soccer more than you do rugby”, I asked without feigning interest.

“Not really”, he answered.

Which lead me to the conclusion that, like many others, he has been bitten by the 2010 Soccer Bug.

Latest matches:

South Africa 1:1 Mexico
Germany 4:0 Australia
Serbia 0:1 Ghana
Algeria 0:1 Slovenia
England 1:1 USA

It’s finally D-day for South Africa, Bafana Bafana and Carlos Alberto Parreira. The FIFA Soccer World Cup 2010 begins today at Soccer City in Johannesburg, a proud moment for many South Africans. The 84 490 seater stadium will be packed to capacity, while millions of people from across the world will watch the 14:00 opening ceremony on television. The first historical match, between hosts South Africa and Mexico, will kick off at 16:00.

The celebrations began last night in Soweto’s historic Orlando stadium for a star-studded “kick-off” concert; including the likes of Shakira and the Black Eyed Peas. I tried to watch it, but due to that fact that I had exercised for the first time in a long time and that we are currently going through a very busy transformation at work, I was ready for bed by 19:30 and the eight o clock scheduling of the concert was way past my bed time. Sorry SA, it’s sad I know, but I will try do better today. I have recorded all the lead up programs, opening ceremony and the actual game on PVR, so when I get home I can fast forward all the adverts and watch everything un-interrupted. See I do care and I am actually very excited about it.

Good luck Bafana Bafana, make us proud, we all know you will. To all South Africans I will leave you with a quote from our very own President Jacob Zuma.

“In this time, we need good South Africans. Let them, just for four weeks, be good. Just for four weeks.”

Don’t just be good, be great and get involved. We need ‘gees’, optimism and patriotism. This might be the last time in our lives (hopefully not) that the world cup is hosted here, so let’s make the most of it…………….Ok?