So far this year, 405 rhinos have been poached, almost all in pursuit of dehorning to meet an Asian demand for rhino horn. The number is a 22% increase on the numbers from 2010. The news isn’t all bad though – arrests have increased this year by 27%, going up to a total of 220 arrests so far this year.

93% of Africa’s rhinos live in South Africa, so this is a very serious problem. Demand for the rhino’s horn is at an all-time high, which is used in medicinal homeopathic remedies. This can range from aphrodisiac all the way to a cure for some forms of cancer.

[Source: Bloomberg]

The Dr states:

I cringe every time I see a patient for a breast lift who is a smoker. I’m deathly afraid that despite my warnings, she will smoke before or after surgery and cause her nipples to turn black and fall off.

Yes. Smokers who undergo breast lifts are at great risk of losing their nipples.

I’ve seen it before.

That’s pretty damn scary. It’s apparently the toxins and nicotine in cigarettes that cut off your bloodflow and cause horrible things to happen. I don’t know about you, but “your nipples are going to turn black and fall off” is a pretty good incentive for me to stop smoking.

[Source: CNN]

Sadly, there is no note attached to the photo to say what song was being played – or, indeed, why. However, he is not alone. A very interesting article on Libya’s fighting guitarists can be found here.

[Source: Channel 4]

The British press is regulated by something called the Official Secrets Act, which in layman’s terms, is pretty similar to our proposed Secrecy Bill. One has to be careful with what one says as a journalist.

The Met’s application for the exposure of the sources had been made under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act and alleged that a journalist for the paper, Amelia Hill, committed an offence under the Official Secrets Act by inciting an officer from Operation Weeting (the Met’s investigative unit looking into phone hacking) to reveal information.

Layers and media representatives alike had expressed their distaste at the fact the Met had resorted to threatening journalists with the Official Secrets Act, and their surprise was reinforced yesterday when the director of public prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC, revealed that the Crown Prosecution Service had not been contacted by officers before the application was made.

The Guardian’s editor-in-chief, Alan Rusbridger, was relieved:

We greatly welcome the Met’s decision to withdraw this ill-judged order. Threatening reporters with the Official Secrets Act was a sinister new device to get round the protection of journalists’ confidential sources.

We would have fought this assault on public interest journalism all the way. We’re happy that good sense has prevailed.

Scotland Yard is obviously not impressed with the turnaround, but has to deal with it:

There will be some hard reflection. This was a decision made in good faith, but with no appreciation for the wider consequences. Obviously, the last thing we want to do is to get into a big fight with the media.

We do not want to interfere with journalists. In hindsight the view is that certain things that should have been done were not done, and that is regrettable.

Neil O’May, one of the Guardian’s solicitors explained:

This was always a misconceived application for source material. Journalists’ sources are protected in law.

For the Metropolitan police to turn on the very newspaper which exposed the failings of the previous police inquiries and reported on hacking by the News of the World was always doomed to failure.

The Metropolitan police need to control the officers who are involved in these sensitive areas.

It isn’t quite over for the Guardian though, and their sources may yet have to be revealed if the Met can get its legal ducks in a row and follow the correct procedures for accessing such privileged information.

[Source: Guardian]

So if you’re an aspiring blogger and you’re looking for just the tip to get you earning a bit of cash, get this issue.

It’s got DJ Fresh on the cover – laughing his head off.

Malema was responding to allegations in the Sunday Independent and Weekend Argus that he is building a mansion that would include an underground bunker, amongst other purported features.

A dressed-down Malema spoke to reporters at Luthuli House earlier:

A house costing R16 million to construct only exists in the imagination of right wing, narrow minded and obsessed white people who always think Africans cannot and should not build houses of their own.

Whether we are building a house or not does not belong in the media, and even if there was such a house being built it would certainly not cost anything close to R16 million.

He refused to give details about his financial interests, saying he was not a public figure, but this might turn out otherwise for him.

Shortly after the presser, Ferial Haffajee, editor of City Press, took to Twitter to voice her view on the matter.

Note that she points out some facts Julius may have overlooked:

Pvt Juju. SCA overturned Public Protector’s Oilgate finding on principle that the private is often public, esp when public funds involved.

SCA is an acronym for the Supreme Court of Appeal, in other words, the very top end of the law.

Although Sars spokesman, Adrian Lackay, said the revenue service wouldn’t comment publicly on the DA’s calls for it to conduct a lifestyle audit on Malema, he might still have to answer at some point.

There has been a growing concern, coming from both political and public interests, as to the origin of some of Malema’s more extravagant lifestyle choices recently.

Although he doesn’t deny having a few things, he says they belong to the bank.

Unfortunately, it’s the questions being asked about his ability to settle a bill of R78 000 in cash at a luxury game lodge on a reported R20 000 a month salary, that still need answering.

[Source: News24]

At the beginning of the week, City Press exposed damning video evidence proving outright that sniper rifles, made in South Africa, are being used in Libya’s bloody civil war by forces loyal to Gaddafi.

You may remember 2oceansvibe began asking these questions back in February already.

Now, a report that appeared in The Star newspaper yesterday has revealed that Gauteng taxpayers could be in for as much as R259 million in “patronage guarantee costs” for the Gautrain project.

And that’s just this financial year. It could be as much as R360 million next year.

Why? Because there may not be enough passengers willing to pay the high ticket prices to use the Gautrain.

This could lead to a shortfall in the Bombela consortium’s operating costs. Not to worry though, because they can be assured of covering these operating costs with the Gauteng government’s promise to do so.

According The Star’s report:

“Yesterday [Monday], the agency would not say how much the full annual guarantee is, but confirmed the R259m quoted was for part of the year.

“We need to, every year, review actual total revenue, adjust forecasts and budget accordingly,” said GMA spokeswoman Dr Barbara Jensen.

She said the guarantee would remain in place “until the actual total revenue equals the minimum required total revenue in terms of the concession agreement”, and that this should happen during Bombela’s 15-year operational period.

Jensen could not say how many passengers would be needed so Gauteng wouldn’t have to pay.

“It is not to cover a potential shortfall of passengers, but rather a mechanism by which the concessionaire can be assured of covering its operating costs (the so-called maximum total revenue).

“In determining the fares, the province had to take into account two factors: (a) affordability of fares; and (b) the unknown period of time for actual ridership to reach forecast levels,” said Jensen.

The patronage cost is part of the department’s annual R2.2 billion budget for the Gautrain for this year. This includes R1.2bn in construction costs, R382m for “operational and support costs” for the GMA, and R89m in loan repayment costs.

Although much of this appears to be operating costs, it is all listed under capital expenditure.

The department’s spending for the next two years on the Gautrain – R2.3bn next year and R2.4bn the year after – is also listed under capital expenditure, although the Gautrain is supposed to be finished this month. This is about a third of the department’s budget each year.

The Gautrain patronage guarantee is referred to in a document produced last year by the World Bank and the Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility on public-private partnerships.

“Roughly speaking, the provincial government will pay the concessionaire the difference between the concessionaire’s actual revenue and a predetermined minimum, if actual revenue is below the minimum. The minimum is an estimate of the revenue the concessionaire needs to cover all its costs, including the cost of capital. It exceeds forecast revenue by some R360m a year,” said the report.

So, Jimmy Manyi, this is why you often find journalists reporting about negative government stories.

This isn’t great news, Jimmy, and the people deserve to know what they are paying for, especially if they had little say on how their money was to be used.

[Source: TheStar]

ANC MPs announced the new move after the ruling party’s close ally Cosatu voiced strong opposition to the draft law and that it suddenly felt the deadline for submission was too soon.

Having seemed so determined to push the bill through Parliament in the last few weeks, despite widespread and logical calls that the bill was appearing unconstitutional, the move will undoubtedly come as a welcomed one.

ANC lawmaker Luwellyn Landers said after a meeting of the party’s study group on the legislation:

We want to request an extension of the life of this ad hoc committee. The deadline of June 24 is inadequate.

Landers went on to tell SAPA that the deadline should instead be moved to somewhere around the beginning of August, just after the new parliamentary session gets underway.

The trade federation Cosatu called for talks with the ANC on the matter and threatened to launch Constitutional Court proceedings should the bill be passed in its current form.

It cited the fact that the bill may allow for the cover-up of corruption as well as the deterrence of whistle-blowing as its main reasons.

The Treatment Action Campaign claimed it would become impossible for civic organisations to hold government to account and the Right 2 Know Campaign said the legislation would rob poor communities of access to information on service delivery.

The bill has long been seen as a threat to media freedom but rights campaigners say the public as a whole would be affected if all organs of state are allowed to classify information.

[Source: BusinessReport]

Click HERE for Sunday Times article, The End Of Radio As We Know It.

Click HERE to tune in to 2oceansvibe Radio now.

If you would like a free 2oceansvibe Radio Car Kit, simply email naomi@2oceansvibemedia.com with the subject ’2ov radio car kit’ and she will add you to our list when we send them out!

You may have noticed in Tuesday Morning Spice that Giggs was named in Parliament by Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming on Monday afternoon.

Mainstream media immediately foamed at the mouth and the incident prompted the publication of his identity in media that had previously restrained from repeating allegations of the alleged affair.

Ferguson and the entire Manchester United squad are scheduled to appear at an open media day at Carrington in Trafford today.

It’s understandably thought highly unlikely that Giggs will attend and it’s also uncertain whether he will take part in Gary Neville’s testimonial match against Juventus at Old Trafford later this evening.

It’s also expected that Fergie won’t address any questions about the subject directly and instead deflect any attention the matter receives to a focus on the club’s objective of beating Barca.

The club’s officials refused to engage with the topic on Monday night because of the sensitivity over breaching the terms of the injunction, and it is thought the manager will take the same approach.

Giggs trained as normal on Monday with all the players who did not play in Sunday’s 4-2 defeat of Blackpool, and although it was awkward when he went up to receive his winner’s medal and lift the trophy along with his teammates, it was clear the club’s fans still worship the Welshman.

Giggs is the most successful player in United’s history, having amassed 12 league titles and two Champions Leagues. His 875 appearances for United since his debut in March 1991 also mark him out as the club’s longest-serving player.

It’s not the way he would have wanted his season to end but with it seeming likely that he will play on Saturday, hopefully he can add to his four goals from 37 appearances thus far this season.

[Source: Telegraph]

For the most part the IEC did a great job during the local government elections, bar a few minor incidents here and there. Some metro’s were so closely fought that some celebrating was to be expected.

The ANC just managed to retain control of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro with 51.9% of the votes and in the process shed a large percentage of the vote.

But burning a newspaper?

The primary battle of the ANC has been with the media, especially The Herald, in this region. Down with white political parties, down. Down with those who vote for white political parties, down.

The Herald dictated that [DA leader Helen] Zille and [Cope’s Smuts] Ngonyama would stand here today and run the metro. The Herald was on the forefront of that … passop [beware] The Herald, passop.

Go and burn The Herald. We will face a bullet with a bullet.

It appears that Faku already had some beef before the elections with the paper anyway and has reportedly earned a mention in the Kabuso forensic report into municipal land sales and tenders, commissioned by the provincial local government and traditional affairs department.

He finished his whinging to loud applause and said blacks who did not like other black people and their organisations should be driven into the sea, or go to Europe. “We need a Malema in this town, we need a Malema,” he said before handing over the microphone.

The Herald went to the courts to force department MEC Mlibo Qoboshiyane, who doubles as ANC provincial spokesperson, to release the report.

SA National Editors’ Forum chairperson Mondli Makhanya said the group was horrified that a senior political leader in South Africa could call for the burning of newspapers and said it was the sort of thing that happened in Nazi Germany back in the 1930’s.

Herald Editor Heather Robertson expressed her feelings:

I am deeply disturbed by Mr Faku’s threat to burn this newspaper. It is shocking that he attacks all of us who work for The Herald on the night of what should be the ANC’s victory celebration.

Mr Faku clearly does not grasp the freedom of expression clause in the Bill of Rights, which was drafted by the ANC.

Mondli continued that Faku’s utterances were a criminal offence and should be treated as such. Unsurprisingly, senior ANC officials chose to distance themselves from the incident.

[Source: News24]

I know – what a dick..

CLICK HERE to read the PDF scan of the interview.

I remember when I was a young boy and absolutely overcome with excitement at the simple thought of the word cricket.

At the same time I had numerous iconic South African cricket heroes to look up to. Truth be told I wanted the hands of Big Mac and the pace of Donald.

I also used to stand in the field and mimic one of the most famous fielding stances in cricket – that of Gary Kirsten, leaning slightly more on one leg, arms folded with one hand up to the mouth, possibly biting a nail and thinking many overs in advance.

Tendulkar takes lessons on how to do the fielding pose…

With Kirsten having just led the Indian team to a Cricket World Cup win in emphatic fashion on Saturday, it’s hardly surprising he hasn’t made any decisions yet.

The great one tells it as it is:

I would like to coach the South Africa team. I am one of those guys that I want to make sure I am not destroying my family while I am pursuing my career, so hopefully we can find a balance.

Basically, we have to put some faith in the coincidence factor here because with Gary and the family moving back to Cape Town imminently and Corrie van Zyl’s contract concluded, this would be epic for South African cricket right now.

[Source: EWN]

As reported in morning spice earlier, the government’s bi-monthly magazine, Vuk’uzenzele, is going to be turned into a monthly tabloid newspaper with Manyi’s vision being to possibly even publish daily in the future.

Manyi has also not decided whether he will allow advertising to be sold in the newspaper that will be out next month.

Realising that the selling of advertising would lighten the financial burden on us, the taxpayers, who will pay for this newspaper to be printed, he used “clutter” as the excuse.

It might create confusion. Don’t be surprised if we don’t allow commercial advertising.

The newspaper will be published in all 11 of our official languages too with the print run for the 20-odd pager being between 1.7 million and two million. Don’t forget there won’t be a cover price either. Jimmy continues,

We want it on the streets, in every township and rural area. It will be bigger than all of you guys put together.

There is of course always the flipside of the coin. And the flipside, according to Jimmy, is that we as journalists decide what government information to publish, often neglecting aspects that need publishing.

Jane Duncan, a media professor at Rhodes University, agreed slightly in that currently the totality of South African opinion is not well represented, but that a government newspaper was not the answer.

One can surmise that the government is hoping to establish a paper that will crowd out the critical voice of newspapers and give its activities a positive gloss.

What we do know however, is that Trevor Manuel probably won’t be in the “letters” section and Kuli Roberts might get a column.

[Source: CityPress]

The ugly werewolf itself, racism, has cross-bred with an Irish Wolfhound and gotten rabies from Lenasia’s strays to culminate into one of the most racist weeks we have had of late. Early March 2011 will be remembered for four names: Jimmy, Kuli, Trevor, and Max.

Yesterday saw ANC Chief Whip Mathole Motshekga have a go at infamously controversial journalist and liberal paragon of free speech, Max du Preez. He’s written a letter to the Press Ombudsman protesting against the Cape Times and columnist Max Du Preez’s piece published on Tuesday which he’s called a “racially derogatory article.”

Max has made this one difficult to defend:

This rootlessness of most coloured people, this sense they got over centuries of not belonging, is the only reason why gangsterism is so rife in that community. Gangsterism is almost always yearning for a tribe, an attempt to belong

He was supposedly using the metaphorical language to relate how many Africans retain aspects of ‘their roots’ and that coloured people wanted something similar.

Earlier in the week the Black Management Forum (BMF) reacted with what is described as “utter shock and disappointment” to the open letter that Minister in the Presidency Trevor Manuel sent to government spokesman Jimmy Manyi.

Basically Trev had a go at a comment that Jimmy made in March last year about there being an ‘over supply’ of coloured people in the Western Cape. Not a cool vibe, Jimmy. Dis nie hoe ons roll nie.

Anyway, short of weeing in his pants a little, Trevor got very hectique, as we like to say, and put this to Jimmy about the war against apartheid:

By the way, what did YOU do in the war, Jimmy?

Very hectique indeed. And this is how he ended his letter off, clearly hitting a nerve was Jimmy:

I know now who Nelson Mandela was talking about when he said from the dock that he had fought against white domination and that he had fought against black domination. Jimmy, he was talking about fighting against people like you.

Heavy. Not for a while still will we be one with each other and frolicking in democratic bliss, it seems.

But maybe it’s good we get it all out once and for good.

[Sources: IOL & TimesLive]

[Image via Daily Maverick]

The video is above – so just press play to get that going. And for those of you who wish to replicate this monumental dish, below if the recipe – as well as the before pic!

Seth’s Mum’s Roast Summer Veggie Dish

2 Aubergines not big fat ones but long slimmer ones if possible
5 Ripe firm Roma tomatoes
4 Courgettes ( baby marrows ) if possible round ones not sure if you can get
in SA otherwise big one so that all the veg is about the same diameter.
Whole head of garlic
Small bunch of Rosemary broken into little sprigs.
Nomu Veggie Rub
1/3 cup Olive oil

Slice all the veg in rings, layer them alternating from the outside until
you end up in the centre where you place the Garlic, add the sprigs of
Rosemary in between the veg, look at my photo.
Sprinkle liberally with Nomu Veggie rub, drizzle with olive oil
Roast open in an oven temp 200 C for an hour.
Keep an eye on it as it may dry out, if it looks dry drizzle with more
olive oil.

Viola!

Stunning. Just stunning!

Head on through to Top Billing‘s website for this and other exciting recipes! I have another one waiting for you there – so be sure to check out my chicken skewers and tomato salad recipe.

GREAT for summer braais!

CLICK HERE for the Top Billing website

And remember to tune-in to Top Billing every Thursday on SABC 3 at 19h30.

Charlie Sheen.

The distilled entertainment value of Charlie’s endeavours in and around New York’s swanky hotels is immeasurable. Loved every moment of his 2010 performance. Can’t wait to see what he brings to the orgy next year.

Yonni Barrios.

Matter of fact the whole bunch of them: 33 sweaty Chileans trapped underground for nine weeks. Edge of your seat stuff. Yonni deserves a special mention though ‘cause he cheated on his wife. A born entertainer that one.

Mara Louw.

Drunk on Idols, a racial slur here and there and, as always, the entire animal kingdom proudly on display on the dress, hat, costume she chose to bare every Sunday. Idols 7? Mara on stage with a bottle of Gin. I’m tuning in.

Lebohang Pheko and André Visagie.

Yes, Touch Me On My Studio happened this year. Some said it was scripted by a divinely gifted genius but we all know it came down to two South Africans hitting their straps as world class entertainers. It’s in our gene pants.

Our Dear Leader.

Kim Jong-il had his ups and downs in 2010. He stared death straight in the face and his bulging son/successor straight in the gut. He looked at stuff and appeared in HD. Never before has one man done so little to entertain so many. His is not a talent, it’s a gift.

Also a big kiss to La Muse at PopYaCollar.co.za who is the secret sauce inside the 2oceansvibe fashion recipe! Check out her website and if you ever need a stylist – she’s your gal!

At least now when I wear my gown and slippers to the DVD store, people will stop and think, “ok, I see what he did there – nice vibe!”

MWEB’s Unlimited Internet Enables SA’s First Online Radio Station

MWEB’s unlimited internet has enabled the launch of SA’s first online radio service that is targeting the tech-savvy market.

2oceansvibe Radio is aiming to change the face of radio in the country as it believes its target market is not catered for by the mainstream radio stations.

2oceansvibe was co-founded by Seth Rotherham, who four years ago hosted an internet radio talk show “for fun” via his website to test its feasibility. However, the lack of broadband and the price of internet in SA hamstrung his plans to launch a full service.

MWEB signed a contract with 2oceansvibe to provide it with high- speed internet, to demonstrate the benefits of having unlimited high- speed internet.

“2oceansvibe is an online hub and we needed a partner who would be able to facilitate all our broadband and streaming needs with the least possibility of the service being interrupted,” Mr Rotherham said.

Carolyn Holgate, GM of MWEB Connect, said MWEB’s sponsorship of companies is limited but it “believes in 2oceansvibe as this shows the full potential of the internet. Over time internet radio will grow — and to realise the full potential, uncapped internet at affordable prices will be key.”

In March, MWEB became the first internet service provider to launch uncapped ADSL broadband in SA. Since then it has attracted more than 70000 subscribers to its low-cost, uncapped ADSL broadband offering.

SA’s first online radio seeks Web-savvy listeners and won’t be targeting a rural audience.

2oceansvibe Radio is SA’s first mainstream online radio and is powered by MWeb through its uncapped ADSL offering.

MWeb says that, with the Internet becoming more accessible for the everyday South African with cheaper and faster broadband, entertainment on the Internet is now a reality. However, co-founder of the radio station, Richard Hardiman, says until mass accessibility, 2oceansvibe will not target a rural audience.

“We are not looking for rapid take-up – it will be a number of years before the idea of Internet radio becomes an obvious choice for the masses. Internet penetration is low per capita versus access to the Internet but we are aiming at an audience who is Web-savvy and enabled. To listen to us you have to have access to the Internet, iPhones or BlackBerries.

“We are not after a large rural audience so in this case it’s [low Internet penetration rate] not a concern to us. In line with global trends, it will only get cheaper, faster and more accessible.”

CLICK HERE for more

[source:itweb]

What a dick
(download 2-page PDF here)

You know, it’s funny, that shoot took about 20 minutes. Reason being, my crew of tight mates have been practicing for shit like that our whole lives. Ever since we learnt what cool meant, and the fact that GQ and cool go hand-in-hand, we’ve perfected the ‘GQ look.’ As far back as I can remember, if ever someone is taking a group photograph, we would first agree on if we were smiling in this next shot, or were we going ‘GQ?’ Invariably it was GQ.

I’ve also had this on my coffee table for several years..

The GQ book of cool – Seth’s bible..  

I popped into Laughtons en route to the shoot, bought a sledgehammer (no spice, I own that sledgehammer, it’s mine), pulled a ‘GQ’ face, and went back to my ‘terminal hangover’..

And yes, I did smash those monitors myself and yes, it did feel awesome doing it.

Highly recommended.

Interesting to note, they smash in the same way as a lightbulb does. Makes a similar noise.

Ja…ja… interesting.

Oh you knew that already?

Well good for you.

Jerk.

Look out for the latest GQ Magazine which is on shelves now.

It looks like this:

October issue of GQ
On shelves NOW!

Sean seems to be throwing a bit of a Rotherham vibe there.

You notice that?

Interesting.. wish he could just be himself.

[big thanks to justin, arthur and dylan - good times]

CLICK HERE FOR HEAT MAGAZINE ARTICLE ABOUT 2OV RADIO

I see they also picked up on the rumour that our boy has a bird’s eye view of the city! Apparently it’s decked out in 70′s wooden panelling throughout! So awesome..

Don’t forget to make like Heat Magazine and tune in to 2oceansvibe Radio! It’s easier than you think

1-click..

Also, to show your support, as Heat have done, CLICK HERE to vote for 2oceansvibe in the 2010 SA Blog Awards Remember, that your vote might just help us get to where we need to be. I mean, imagine a world without 2oceansvibe..

[thanks marina]

You ever heard a blogger say, “You want impartiality? Read a newspaper”?

Ja, well, if you want impartiality, don’t read a newspaper. At least, don’t read the New Age newspaper.

What’s that? You haven’t heard of the New Age newspaper?

No, that’s quite alright. You’re not expected to know about it. They themselves confess that their target readership will be LSM 4 to 10.

Now, “LSM” stands for Living Standards Measurement, it’s basically an indication of the lifestyle and wealth of an audience. In other words, an LSM of 4 to 10 is the majority of people in our lovely country. Coincidentally, Brendan Seery would be aiming for a similar audience LSM.

2oceansvibers, you won’t have heard of the New Age because 2oceansvibe’s audience is in a slightly different LSM – so don’t beat yourself up over it.

But here’s the spice. New Age launched by the Gupta family. You haven’t heard of them either? OK, it’s time to catch up, this concerns you.

The Gupta’s are very, very, very rich. They control Sahara Computers, and a number of mining interests across Africa. They’re also top chums with former minister in the Presidency and ANC bigwig, Essop Pahad, as well as that other guy, president Jacob Zuma.

In fact, they’re such big muckers with the Zumas that ol’ Jacob’s daughter, Duduzile, sits on the board of Sahara Computers, and her brother, Duduzane is allegedly a key player in the Gupta’s mining interests.

Hell, The New Age’s editor is the former Vuyo Mvoko, the former political editor of the SABC – the same people who stand accused of major political bias against Thabo Mbeki in favour of JZ during those turbulent times of 2008.

Add to this the fact that Essop Pahad and former Chamber of Mines and Kumba boss Lazarus Zim sit on The New Age Media board, well, you’ve got a nepotism gangbang of epic proportions. Should be a great government mouthpiece read.

Where am I going with this?

NONE OF THESE PEOPLE ARE SPONSORED BY PUMA.

Totally over it.

[Source : Daily Maverick]

With the Soccer World Cup just 24 days, four hours and 20 minutes away, it’s so comforting to know that our beloved RSA is getting the accurate international press coverage that we deserve.

I mean, take this, for example, courtesy of Chicago’s WGN news.

It’s not exactly the sort of all-round positive coverage that we’re looking for, but at least they got the continent right, right?

Right?

Right.

[thanks @FourFourTwo]

You should find the interview suitably amusing.

* To read interview, click image for full-size view..

To read interview, click image for full-size view

*Photograph was taken by one of SA’s leading surf photographers, Anthony Fox .

CLICK HERE for a stack of his past 2oceansvibe features.

CLICK HERE for Google results.

Hell, that’s bloody marvelous, man!

Get yourselves a copy of the latest issue of Leadership Magazine and quietly enjoy our little double page spread (we call that a “DPS” in the industry). And you can keep it all to yourself – with the full page poster.

*cough* recommended bedtime reading, if you know what I mean…

Lancey, giving it a full rev on the cover of the latest Leadership

CLICK HERE for article from the Latest Leadership Magazine
They used the shot of me and Peroni Girl, Landi Swanepoel
Taken during our 2oceansvibe WeatherGirls shoot (photo : VC Photo)

It’s interesting to note that they wanted me on the cover, but that was before they found out Lance would be in Cape Town to ride the Argus. They asked if I minded.

“No, man, fuck don’t be silly!” I told them, “Lancey’s a good boy – tell him no problem whatsoever!”

Sure, some people might interpret it as being “sidelined” but, I mean, really, the guy is coming here to visit our beautiful shores and ride our race – put.him.on.the.bloody.cover!

Between us, me and Lance know that we’re on the same “level,” and that’s all that’s all that really matters.

[thanks robbie]

I wore my coolest T-shirt which allowed me to blend in seamlessly. That, combined with my kick-ass break-the-ice first slide, gave me the respect I so desperately craved. From that point I just had to deal with the hot angel students out there who were basically undressing me with their eyes.

*cough* fifth row from the bottom in the middle, next to the guy in the red shirt – If perving that is wrong, I don’t want to be right..

Business Science honours students get the 2oceansvibe seal of approval  

So we all hung out for about an hour and I would like to take this opportunity to give the entire lecture theatre of students a double thumbs up from 2oceansvibe – you guys were great – I really had such a good time. Thank you.

Also a big thanks goes to these three angels who made my walk to the car that bit more pleasant.

UCT angles, murdering the campus

Umm, is there a course I could take at UCT which doesn’t require attendance, but still allows you to loiter on campus?

But let’s focus on The Rotherham pizza for now. I’ll get straight to the point, the secret of The Rotherham pizza is that it comes “pre-tweaked.” The true Butlers pizza connoisseurs out there will know than you can pimp your pizza slightly. I’m not talking about the toppings, I’m talking about tweaking it. Like asking for a “thin base,” rather than standard base.

It’s on the left of the menu, in the orange highlight.
CLICK MENU to enlarge

So I’ll kickoff by telling you that The Rotherham comes STANDARD with a thin base. But wait, that’s not all. If you call in the next 10 minutes Enjoy this, it comes standard with only HALF the normal portion of pizza cheese. That’s right. That’s how I like it. Neat and tidy.

Look at you… you want to order one and I haven’t even told you the ingredients yet! Are you ready to hear them? Ok, it’s quite simple..

Bacon, Salami and Feta, with only half the normal cheese, on a thin base.

Hey?

What did I tell you?

Give me a break!

Try “The Rotherham” WITH NoMU peri-peri..

Order it now, but do yourself a favour and ask the lady on the phone to add some NoMU peri-peri to The Rotherham – then you’ll really be getting your vibe on. I just know you’ll love it!

Click the menu above to check it out. The phone numbers are on that as well.

CLICK HERE fo Butlers Pizza – Cape Town’s Number 1

Why would you care about the Mango Airlines in-flight magazine?

Let me show you..

This month’s cover of “Juice” Magazine
Mango Airlines in-flight magazine

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE

No, I am not shitting you – it’s real. Can you even cope with that facial expression? Hahahaha! I’m like, “sure, I slept with your wife, but how good is this cocktail? Here, try some..”

God, what a DICK!

That shot was taken at the Sky Bar, by the way – at my primary residence, the 5-star Cape Royale hotel. The very same hotel which recently had employees from Coral International hotel in the lobby, trying to poach guests as they checked in.

So for those of you who were about to book on another airline, stop what you’re doing right now and get your mouse over to Mango Airlines.You can’t buy these mags in the shops so flying on Mango will be the best chance you have of grabbing a copy. And it’s a top story – written by none other than Simon Hartley .

What’s more, we’re giving away a free Butlers pizza and a free Euromillions Lottery voucher to everyone who sends in a picture of themselves on a Mango Airlines plane, holding up a copy of the magazine. Seductively.

Competition runs until the end of the month.

Send your pics to editor@2oceansvibe.com with the subject “Touch my Mango” and we’ll sort you out.

*If you do not live in Cape Town, you may transfer the pizza to a friend of yours in Cape Town. They will then owe you a favour and you will have the power. If you don’t have a friend in Cape Town then the pizza will be kept for you until you move here.

Thanks to Monique and the crew for an awesome day shooting and mucking about at the 5-star Cape Royale Hotel.

That’s right, you heard me..

Vanessa Raphaely couldn’t contain herself and has already leaked one of the pics from the shoot on her blog, Hurricane Vanessa – so I thought I’d do the same!

So here’s another pic from the same shoot! Anything else you will have to see for yourself in the latest copy of Marie Claire – it’s the annual Naked Issue, of course.. and this year it’s in support of the very worthy Rape Crisis Cape Town Trust (more here).

Click pic to enlarge photo and remove censorship..

CLICK for uncensored higher res image  

The wound on my arm is even cooler – that was from the little whoopsie I had on my scooter a few days before. Please also excuse the incredibly amazing shorts tan – I fell asleep in the sun the day before. Rookie error. Although, in a way, it’s kinda cool..

And so are the shots of Jeannie D, I might add..

Marie Claire – “The Naked Issue”
On Shelves Wednesday..

Ooooh..naughty!

Be sure to pick up your copy of the latest Marie Claire to see the rest.

It hits shelves on Wednesday 13 January!

It’ll be really “weird” and “coincidental” when it sells out. Like that issue of ELLE Magazine. And that YOU Magazine issue. And that record-breaking Top Billing TV episode..

Hey, look, I don’t have a problem with it – let’s shift some bloody units!

But let’s not go on about “boosting” numbers and “breaking records” – I just thought that I would show you the ELLE interview, now that the magazine is sold out.

BANG!

Click image to enlarge..

CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE TO READING SIZE
FEEL IT INSIDE YOU

Good times. Did you know about my “C-TAP” nickname?

It’s funny.. I regularly get into what pot-smokers describe as a “zone” during interviews and, when published, I often don’t remember what I said at the time.

My favourite answer would have to be the one about the dolphins. That really made me chuckle.

And howz that pic of me and my labrador? Her name was Katie.

KAAATIE, KATIE, KATIE, KATIE, KATIEEEEEEE!

FOOODIE, FOODIE, FOODIE, FOODIE, FOODIEEEES!!!!

Here’s a taste of the latest mailer (sorry, couldn’t help myself).

Tracy (as signed above) is the owner of NoMU and, as mentioned in my esteemed wine pairings, I have had the pleasure of her very own private home cuisine. Now whilst I do admit to “making up” the various pairings I gave as this month’s NoMU mailer guest contributor, I do feel my suggestions have merit. And anyway, I was told that there weren’t really any rules when it came to the process – a notion which suits me to a tee!

Please contain yourself as I present the photo and intro I was bestowed:

“Glowing,” you might say?

It’s always satisfying when people take your musings seriously (in both English and Spanish, no less!), and even better when they accompany it with a photo of you taking yourself even more seriously!

Jokes aside, the 2oceansvibe audience has a certain sophistication and I am well aware of the leagues of food fans out there. That said, if you haven’t yet subscribed to the NoMU Food Files mailer, I strongly suggest you do!

After all, it’s NoMU – and it doesn’t get much better than that.

CLICK HERE to check out the NoMU website, subscribe to the mailer (click “recipe mailer” at the top) and check out my wine pairings!

Byt the way, three subscribers will win prizes including 2oceansvibe bubbly of choice (Boschendal Grande Cuvee Brut) as well as our favourite wine, De Grendel (the limited edition “Winifred”)!

Besides photos including that now iconic pic of me as a child, the interview also gets in pretty deep with regards to what makes me tick. Randall Abrahams even gets a mention. No spice.

Go get a copy – it looks like this:

The new ELLE Magazine featuring Seth Rotherham on page 78
Comes with a free pair of shades!

I can see what will happen here. Just like they called it a “coincidence” when the YOU Magazine issue I was in became their biggest seller ever (oh, because of the Caster Simenya makeover? Whatever..), the same will happen here and I suppose they’ll attribute it to the free pair of shades that come with the mag. Puh!

Why then did the Top Billing TV show episode with 2oceansvibe experience their highest viewership levels in 3 years?

Seriously, get over yourself. Let’s shift some bloody units!

And we haven’t even got to the Marie Claire Naked Issue, which comes out soon.

That’s right…starkers baby – for you!

Just to run you through the process – I recorded the show on my PVR decoder at The Safe House. So what that does is it stores the show in digital format on the PVR machine – for use at home. There is no facility to transfer this data from the machine to another machine, or computer, or disc or flash drive. Granted, there is a USB port on the decoder – but it doesn’t do anything,

So my friends at iKraal lent me a VIDEO MACHINE. That’s right – an old school style VHS video player/recorder. Awesome! I would hook up the machine between the PVR and the TV and record the show! There was only one problem – I needed a VHS tape..

Not the easiest thing in the world, I’m sure you can imagine. I went to Caldis on Long Street where the staff completely ignored me and managed to muster a mumble confirming that they had no VHS tapes. A very different attitude to when I bought the several plasma screens and DVD players and stereos in the past.

So anyway, should you ever require a VHS tape, I can confirm that Pick n’ Pay at the Waterfront sells them. I got a TDK 180 – quite mean! So I took that home, recorded the show from PVR onto tape and took the tape to iKraal, who have the facilities to transfer that video BACK into digital format! From there I could put it on “le web” – which is what the French call it.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how we got to this point!

So sit back, relax and enjoy the 2oceansvibe feature from SABC 3′s Top Billing show, 15 October, 2009. Wait for the box to load under this sentence and press play!

*Slow connections are advised to press pause to let it load up before playing.

I’m fine with that..

And it’s coming out TOMORROW!

Thursday night, 19h30, SABS 3

We had LOADS of fun shooting the feature and I can’t tell you exactly what happens, but there were some hilarious moments that you’re not going to want to miss! I should take this moment to warn you that my hair is extremely mellow and I use a stunt double in some of the scenes.

No spice.

Check out this teaser that has been playing on TV this week. It gives a little mention to warm you up.

They use a lot of footage from that Goldfish concert next to the pool on the roof of the Cape Royale. The one we had after shooting last week’s Olmeca 2oceansvibe Show.

Were YOU there?

Will YOU be on TV?

God knows – you’ll have to watch and find out!!!

And I see Kevin Pietersen cracked the same show as 2oceansvibe (raises eyebrows). Hah! Nice one. That should “raise his profile” a bit!

Don’t blame me if there is another “coincidence” and this episode does a Caster Semenya YOU magazine record-breaker vibe on us. It’s always possible – especially with you lot 2oceansvibing behind the scenes.

And this time we won’t have to pretend the numbers were due to Caster’s makeover “cover story.”

So I’ll catch you there.

Thursday night. SABC 3. 19h30.

Meantime, check out the Top Billing Website here.

*Thanks to Gabbi, Sunay, Kelly, Julian and Wiimpie at Top Billing for the boom directional mics, 2oceansvibe cocktails, Dreamy Burgers and good times at Caprice..

It’s true – look!

CLICK HERE for GottaQuirk interview
with Katharina Scholtz

Pretty rad interview I had that day with spunky Kat from Gottaquirk (a division of Rob Stokes’s Quirk Marketing). She did a good job so, if you’re interested in blogging (aah, touch yourself) or the 2oceansvibe brand and the journey so far, check it out here.

Ja, watch this.

[grabs whip]

Once again, I’m not claiming this, but I’m just SAYING, that the latest issue YOU Magazine [*cough* of which I am a cover story] is currently featured on CNN (here). This, shortly after being featured in the Daily Mail (here), as well as the BBC (here).

Come on – that’s QUITE mean?

[looks at himself in the mirror]

CLICK HERE for CNN feature

YOU Magazine is, essentially, the most well-known South African magazine in the world at the moment.

Coincidence? I don’t know.

Let’s get a close up of the 2oceansvibe “cover” story:

Bottom left – that’s it, my boet

I’m just SAYING…that IF this becomes a record-breaking seller, I could, IN TIME, claim that I was a “cover story” for that particular big-selling issue.

Pushing it?

I don’t know.

[points, runs]

*CLICK HERE for 2oceansvibe’s “YOU Magazine” article.

[thanks ryan]

That’s pretty big exposure. So all I’m saying is that it’s interesting to note that this happens to be the same issue as the feature they did on me. Coincidence? I don’t think so. I mean, I am also featured on the front cover.

Bottom left. Suck it in.

Read Daily Mail article here

That’s right, baby shoes! If this becomes a record-breaking seller, I could, IN TIME, claim that I was a “cover story” for that particular issue.

Would that be pushing it?

Maybe you might think so. But you know what I think?

[points in the sky over your shoulder]

[you turn to see what seth is pointing at]

[seth runs]

[you turn back and seth is gone]

[there is a note on the ground in the same place he was standing]

[you read the note. all it says is "touch yourself]

*CLICK HERE for 2oceansvibe’s “YOU Magazine” article.
[thanks johnny]

YOU Magazine decided to gave her a make-over, after the controversy surrounding her gender.

This, from the BBC:

South African runner Caster Semenya, whose gender was queried by athletics officials, has defended her looks and taken part in a makeover in a magazine.

Ms Semenya, the 800m world champion, posed for the cover of South Africa’s You magazine.

 

 

“I am who I am and I am proud of myself,” the 18-year-old said.

“I’d like to dress up more often and wear dresses but I never get the chance,” she said as she was photographed in several outfits.

The BBC’s Pumza Fihlani in Johannesburg says the outfits show a softer side of Ms Semenya, who most of the world has seen only in a green-and-gold running outfit and training shoes.

The outfits included black leather trousers with a sequined top, a grey knee-length dress worn with a grey cropped jacket and a black-and-white cocktail dress worn with stilettos.

The controversy over Ms Semenya’s gender has angered many in South Africa, including her family who insist she is female.

And our reporter says her makeover has become a talking point since the magazine hit the shelves on Monday evening.

Listeners have been phoning up radio stations to give their thoughts on “the new and improved” Ms Semenya.

Some felt she should not have been “improved” while others said it was a “great look”.

Ms Semenya, who has said very little about the gender controversy surrounding her, says she is not bothered by the negative publicity following her gold medal at the Berlin World Championships last month.

[read more here]

It’s all HAPPENING!!

Buy the latest issue of YOU Magazine (on shelves now) to check out the pics from her make-over.

And, in the meantime, check out her cover photo HERE!

[thanks paolo]

The 10 September issue cover
Stunning!

So, for those of you who are yet to find a doctor’s waiting room with the latest issue, here it is.

CLICK HERE for Page 1 CLICK HERE for Page 2

I don’t quite know what to say. I mean, do you think I come across sexy enough? I just wish they had used some of the other shots they took. Like the ones of me doing yoga with my shirt off. Or the ones of me in the shower (yes, obviously from behind).

Those were HOT!!

Perez “carbs” Hilton shows his uncoolness by not noticing my incredibly awesome Lambda Lambda Lambda T-shirt which I often have to cover up before entering stores because of how it kills.

Shame.

This, spotted on perezhilton dot com:

Click here for original article

Yes, I do recall that little cockroach who took the pic. I remember clearly pulling out the camera to film him as well. Terrible little thing, he was.

Keep watching the 2oceansvibe Pauly Shore Zinzi series, and look out for that exact moment – coming up RIGHT HERE. Part 2 comes out today at 11am.

Nice one, fatty.

Did you enjoy the use of the word “respectively” back there? Ja, that’s how I roll.

Well anyway, given Damon’s New England heritage, Meredith at The Boston Globe took a liking to the pics and got in touch. Next thing we were talking talking about Matt Damon and how he enjoys Jack Black Beer! All of which made it to the final article – online and in print!

Check it out:

As you can see, Matt Damon has gone bleach blond to play rugby star Francois Pienaar (see below), the guy responsible for helping South Africa win the rugby World Cup in 1995.

 

 

The photo above was recently taken on the set of “Invictus,’’ Clint Eastwood’s film about the Cup, in which Morgan Freeman will play Nelson Mandela. According to Seth Rotherham, who originally posted this picture on his popular South African blog, Damon is well liked around Cape Town. “Friends of mine involved in the movie say Matt is a complete gentleman and has won over everyone,’’ Rotherham told us.

The blog writer added that Damon has developed a love for a South African brew called Jack Black Beer. He must not be able to find Sam Adams or Harpoon down there.

[source]

Here’s a little tid bit:

Six awards including blog of the year, best original writing and most humorous. Did this come as a surprise?

With six nominations, I certainly was hoping to get at least one or two. But six? And the best overall? No – I simply refused to think that far. I lived with professional rugby players for a few years in my early 20’s and talking about winning before a match was taboo in our house. “Jinxing” the match and all that, is an absolute no-no!

When did you start blogging and why?

About seven years ago, before blogs were really blogs. I just made a website to showcase photos of parties that my friends and I had been to the previous weekend. Just for everyone to see. In the days when my buddies had internet access, but no email. Then I started commenting on the pics and writing little stories to fill the spaces. Strangers told me they enjoyed it which was weird – but appealing. They found it funny and urged me to keep writing. I enjoyed writing (and still do) so I continued!

What inspires you to blog everyday?

Just everything I do and see and think. Like any discussion you would have with a friend in a bar or a braai or a restaurant – exactly the same thing, except I type it for everyone else to see as well. Whatever I’m talking about, I’m writing about.

CLICK HERE for the rest of le interview.

Thanks for the good times, guys.

And the great jokes.

Loads of fun.

Here is the second part:

You enjoy that Baby float joke at the end?

Ja, thought you might. I was thinking about making you smile at the time.

I got the joke from Dan Nicholl. Which he probably got from me in another life.

It was noted :

SA’s biggest websites and blogs

South Africa is currently experiencing strong broadband adoption and Internet usage growth – something which was expected many years ago but was hampered by government interference and a monopolistic fixed line environment.

According to a recent research report by World Wide Works South, Africa’s Internet population is expected to grow as much in the next five years as it has in the 15 years since the Internet became commercially available in South Africa.

The research also shows that the number of Internet users in South Africa grew by 12.5% to 4,6-million in 2008 – the first time since 2001 it has grown by more than 8%. The increased growth rate is expected to continue for the next five years, taking the Internet user population to the 9 million mark.

This strong growth in Internet adoption means that there is a new wave of users who are getting their news online and are using the Internet for communication, ecommerce and social networking. This begs the question as to which websites are the most popular among South Africa.

According to Alexa, which measures the popularity of websites, Google is the most popular website among South Africans. Facebook is second while Yahoo completes the top three. The rest of the Top 10 is YouTube, WikiPedia, Blogger.com, News24, Microsoft Network, Gumtree and Windows Live.

When it comes to local websites News24 remains by far the most popular online destination in South Africa. According to the latest Nielsen Online Ranking Report – which ranks local websites according to unique monthly visitors – IOL was second, followed closely by MSN (nice one, Ad).

Biggest local blogs
When it comes to local blogs audited statistics like the Nielsen Online Ranking Report is not available, but South African blogging aggregator Amatomu gives a good indication of which blogs are the most popular.

According to Amatomu, Keo.co.za, the leading rugby blog in South Africa, is the most popular local blog. The second most popular blog is another ruby blog Rugbydump while Charl Norman’s Carblog completes the top three. The Top 10 is completed by Coke Zero Fest 2009, Thought Leader, The Times Planet Blog, Times Multimedia, Adii Freelancer & Business Strategist, 2OceansVibe and MSFT.NET Blogs (ZA).

More advertising spend
The strong growth in online readership and the increasing popularity of local websites translated in accelerating online advertising spend. According to World Wide Worx online advertising in South Africa grew at the fastest rate of all countries in the English-language world in 2008, and is likely to repeat this performance in 2009.

[more here]

Personally (as was reiterated by Chris Mills at iMod) I feel that Afrigator is at the forefront of the blog aggregation standards game for South Africa.

But, that aside; there seems to be more recognition with regards to South African blogs being an accepted serious form of media – more fine tuned to genuinely deliver to the consumer. Something that the 35 year old white female media buyers out there should consider, as they continue to drop hundreds and thousands of Rands on double page spreads and worthless radio ads.

It’s amazing how much more you can get for your buck, when you compare blog exposure to a 30 second R10,000 radio ad. Exact Google stats confirming your audience are one thing, but does that R10,000 you spent on the radio ad (which is gone once it’s aired. Gone – forever) have any added value, like a strong Google ranking?

No, it doesn’t.

Blogs of all shapes and sizes are coming to the forefront and it’s only the finger-on-the-pulse brands out there who are maximising the very obvious advantages of talking to an audience who believe what they’re reading.

In an economic climate such as this, how long can you afford to blow money on wasted “traditional media?”

More people I know talk about things they’ve seen and heard about on local and international blogs, than any other medium.

How long must that carry on, before it becomes “traditional?”

[email editor@2oceansvibe.com for a rate card and stats]

In case you missed those, check it out:

Kelly Wheeler
March 27th, 2009

 

 

Seth Rotherham is one of South Africa’s most successful bloggers. 2oceansvibe is top of my Google Reader and was nominated for an incredible six SA Blog Awards with the ceremony due to take place next Friday in Cape Town.

From his loathing for crocs to his excellent advice on how to torture Butler’s delivery guys, Seth has a loyal following who share his love for Cape Town, frivolity and saying exactly what you think. Bless the internet.

 

(photo courtesy verstercohen.com)

 

We chatted to him about holidays, Cape Town and even porn. And it’s his birthday today, so we let him say pretty much anything he wanted.

GoTravel24.com: How do you live your motto “Work is a sideline, live the holiday”?

Seth: “It’s not hard when you live slap bang in Camps Bay – it’s all pretty much taken care of. I take a dip in the ocean as often as I can – usually first thing in the morning and hopefully later in the day, whilst lying at Beta Beach. I also try my best to wear Hawaiian shirts as much as possible. I suggest people out there do the same – this alone will give you the impression that you’re on holiday. Even if you’re a 9-5er, who says you can’t wear Hawaiian shirts?

Your travel nightmare would be?

“Anything which involves the sentence ‘We don’t have any record of your name here,’ as the little angel ticker tacks away at the keyboard, contorting her face, wide-eyed looking at the screen as her head shakes slowly from side to side…. ‘Nope…. Can’t find it anywhere…’ That’s when I start scrounging through my bag for the Xanors I borrowed from The Roofer…

Are you a member of the mile-high club?

“Hmm, It depends… are you keen? Do you have a plane? Actually, funny story – a friend of ours, “Boegom”, is loath to admit that he hasn’t tried everything sexually. So, when he came back from a trip and claimed to have joined the mile high club, we all gave him the necessary high-fives. Acutely aware of his knack for embellishment, the boys started to push him, ‘SERIOUSLY, Boegie, did you REALLY do it? Tell us more. How EXACTLY did you do it?’ – he nodded, went quiet, and whispered, ‘does a blow job count?’ Whaaahahaha! No, it most certainly does NOT!!! (Love you, Boegom!)

That was just a short excerpt so read the rest here !

You need to check out the rest of that interview , in particular the comments section under the interview – it’s got some AWESOME haters!

Then there was also the Digital Edge Podcast, which has just gone live. this one is slightly different because it’s a podcast. For those of you who think a podcast is something to do with a magical spell involving peas, it is actually an audio interview.

Have a listen to the latest interview, featuring various South African bloggers,as well as yours truly! It’s entitled “Reprobates and Bloggers” – CLICK HERE FOR THAT

I’m very impressed with these guys and would also like to urge you to vote for them in the 2009 SA Blog Awards in the category BEST SOUTH AFRICAN PODCAST. CLICK HERE for that .

Sick!

UPDATE: In case you checked this out earlier – The Sunday Times Lifestyle section interview can be seen here.

Check it out.

Interview: Seth Rotherham from 2oceansvibe
Katharina Scholtz

2oceansvibe is a ridiculously popular blog (35 000 unique readers a month) authored by a ridiculously funny man called Seth Rotherham. He’s built up his blog’s culture around a simple phrase – “work is a sideline, live the holiday”. This is exactly what he seems to be doing – while taking his friends (often featured on the blog) and favourite brands along for the ride. We tracked him down via email to answer some questions in the way only he can. Enjoy.

 

Image credit: Andrew VC – verstercohen.com

 

Blogs are arguably not the normal home for the suave and almost-naked-woman surrounded – how did u get into it?

I started 7 years ago before blogging was really happening and/or popular. I just made the site to showcase pictures of friends and beautiful angels taken at parties the previous weekend. Mainly just for my close mates. I used to write the odd funny comment next to the pics and strangers started telling me how they found it funny. That felt weird. And nice. Like when you take a leak in a wetsuit. I continued and here we are today (sans wetsuit).

Work is a Sideline, Live the Holiday – is 2oceansvibe your day job?

Absolutely. Fortunately I’ve developed a system whereby I don’t really have to work. This allows me to focus on 2oceansvibe and, as a result, I can produce this online reality show type vibe and write about what I’m doing which happens to be chilling out doing nice things with nice people. It appeals to the reader as it’s stuff that we all want to do.

Was there a moment of shining light when you thought ‘I’m a lifestyle blogger!’ and if so when did it happen?

Jeez. Probably the day when a 2oceansvibe cocktail appeared on the Caprice Cocktail menu. But seriously, nothing has changed. I started before blogging was a word – I’m just writing about what everyone is talking about.

We like the way you manage to keep advertising entertaining on your blog. Do you find it a tough balance to strike?

Not in the slightest. I only advertise brands I like or want to try. If they let me down, or repeatedly let down/offend my readers (my most adored treasure), they won’t be there any longer. Part of the reason people come to 2oceansvibe is to get recommendations on stuff. I’ve always written about products and brands; what I eat, wear, have and do anyway, whether they’re paid for or not – it’s all real.

You’ve evolved a whole culture around your writing, with characters and ‘angels’ (the number of times you mention the word ‘vibe’ is quite something) – how much conscious planning goes into it?

Not much at all. That is exactly how we/I talk. Nothing on the site is contrived. My friends have always referred to each other as the characters shown on the 2oceansvibe characters list. The Chief, for example, would call me and say, “Have you heard the latest spice about our boy?” I’d go, “Which one.” He’d go, “The Insurance Broker.” “Oooh, no I did not… tell me more!!” and so it goes on.

“The Safe House” has always been called that (2oceansvibe or not) and it’s because it is high up in Camps Bay and lets me look down over everything – feeling safe. We always call chicks angels and I think it’s good that we do – because they are!

Vibe is just the most versatile word. “What’s the vibe” – “Check that guy’s vibe!” – “Howz your vibe?” – “A boring vibe” – “Quite a vibe” – “That angel is giving me a vibe” – it goes one. Which vibe are you referring to, exactly?

Do you promote your blog, or did you when you started? (I can’t imagine you reading posts like 10 tips for growing your readership or Problogger).

Nah, there was never any promotion – purely word of mouth. There are little scandals along the way which allowed the site to gain new readers and continue forward. The most recent was the high profile public spat I had with the Idols Judges. Which resulted in me responding to Randy Abrahams with a video which has been watched over 80,000 times now.

I just grab the bull by the horns when the moment presents itself. I think the secret behind 2oceansvibe is a variation of dare-I-say-it “The Secret” (which is a variation of the same thing covered in every good business book of all time). I look after brands and people I trust. I talk about it. The readers trust me, and they follow my lead. In return the vibe grows. Because it’s a good vibe built on trust. We don’t interact with dicks. Ever.

[read more here]

You should definitely continue reading that interview as there is loads more (including some more ridiculous pics) – some of it pretty amusing I am told.

Thanks again, Kat – thoroughly enjoyed that!

CLICK HERE for more.

They’re out of stock at the moment and are apparently replenished every few days. So those of you who missed it, here it is.

Very spicy indeed!

The picture was not posed
That’s how it is – the WHOLE time!

CLICK HERE TO READ ARTICLE

 

CA 4, comes just after CA 3

 

Howzit Seth

Saw this in the parking lot at work.

Too Slow.

Neil Q

 

Nice. Not bad at all.

But I do see your point.

You’re being naughty and probably highlighting the CA 3 story.

God I hate the word blog.

But check this out:

 

Seth Rotherham: A controversial figure in the SA blogging community (he is avowedly not part of it), Rotherham was one of the first people in South Africa to start drawing a decent income from blogging. His style of tongue-in-cheek style of glam-blogging is now widely imitated in the SA blogosphere.

 

Oh my God, are you fucking kidding me? a GLAM BLOGGER?!? Whaaah, that’s hilarious! I’d HARDLY call myself glam! Jesus, Gary Glitter was a musician who produced “Glam Rock” – does that mean we’re on the same page?

I’m just a chilled guy, going about his day. In fact, I’ll show you how chilled I am. This is me, on most days.

 

Seth takes a break from being a “Glam-blogger”

 

Very chilled!

HARDLY glam!