As far as my new venture is concerned, I’ve created a blog and website to serve as an online PR experiment. It is all about Johannesburg – the people, the places, the vibe. There are four adspots for sale, and I’m currently doing a trade exchange with TomTom. They give me a GPS unit to review, I write a post on how it contributes to my exploration of Johannesburg, and on top of that they get their logo and a link to their website on an ad spot for the month in which the “sponsor” my hassle-free travels.

If anyone else is keen to make use of this, feel free to contact me on Syllable@syllableinthecity.co.za

I wrote an introductory article on the impact of increased electricity tariffs. In the next issue there are a few articles that look at this issue in depth when it comes to the various agricultural sectors. Spring is also the season to enjoy that ‘King of Thistles” – the true artichoke. Although they are not commercially farmed on a large scale, some farmers do cultivate them in addition to other vegetables.

In “Sit down to a smorgasbord of cheese” you will find a basic soft cheese recipe, information about the South African cheese industry, and a brief look at some of the more unusual cheeses.

So there are a few articles to chew on until the next time. Enjoy!

I did some research that led to a fascinating article about nutmeg. Turns out you can get high from it, and in the Middle Ages you could easily buy a mock-nutmeg to ward off evil spirits! And did you know that mace (a spice used in the production of the personal safety spray) also comes from the nutmeg tree?

I also took some pictures at the Pannar Farmers’ Day, as well as for the ‘Seen at the stores’ feature. We are a multi-talented bunch on the editorial team.

I usually do articles on plants, but I tried something different too – Africanis: a truly African dog. It was very interesting, but I still prefer plants; in general there is a lot more information available to source for research. Sometimes a little too much – doing a concise and accurate timeline of coffee was an awesome challenge.

Hope you enjoy the articles – feedback’s always welcome.

Related articles

• May-June edition of Afgriland (thevoicessay.wordpress.com)
• Another article and new venture (thevoicessay.wordpress.com)
• More links to articles I’ve written (thevoicessay.wordpress.com)
• Moving on (thevoicessay.wordpress.com)

Enjoy!

I was recently made aware of a new development in the computer industry. Sure, fashionable computer accessories and netbooks are not new, but I do believe this is the most gorgeous piece of hardware I’ve ever seen. And so my obsession starts is fuelled.

Behold the new HP Vivienne Tam Butterfly netbook! It is essential for playing, working and connecting on–the–go. Where else will you find a feather–light style accessory with a high definition display and superb sound?

Yes it is beautiful (told you so) but it also much more than just a pretty face. It comes standard with an Intel^® Atom^™ processor N270 and 1.60 GHz, Level 2 cache 512 KB, 1 GB memory and 60 GB SATA HDD. It also features two USB2.0 ports, a webcam with integrated microphone, and allows wireless networking.

Size matters

Well, sort of, you know? So, this beauty has a 10.1” high definition HP LED BrightView Inifinity display, a 92% full size keyboard, weighs a mere kilogram and measures 16.67 cm (l) x 26.17 cm (w) x 2.52 cm (h). Basically, you can fit it in your handbag, provided you’re not set on sporting a clutch bag. Alternatively you can stick your drivers’ licence and credit card in your underwear, hide your phone in your bra, and sport the Vivienne Tam as your accessory clutch. And why wouldn’t you want to?

It keeps getting better

Speaking of accessories, you can also get a matching wireless optical mouse. Small in size, but a heavy-weight in functionality, it features four buttons (two primary buttons, clickable scroll wheel and a document flip button) and an USB wireless receiver.

Business, pleasure – it’s all fun on the hot new HP Butterfly Lovers digital clutch by Vivienne Tam.

And better still

The people over at HPShop will give you 5% of ANY purchase from their website (http://www.hpshop.co.za/). All you need to do is enter this voucher number HP-p7ka2U to complete your order. Please note the discount only applies to the value of the order and exclude delivery fees. Offer valid until 31 May 2010.

So off you go – shop, shop, shop! Then play.

In 2001/2 BMW (US) ran an Internet campaign with a series of short films. The series was called ‘The Hire’ and is similar to the full feature film ‘The Transporter’. The eight short films were each directed by a different director, including John Frankenheimer, Guy Ritchie, John Woo and Tony Scott. The only constant in the films is the driver, Clive Owen, driving a BMW. The model, storyline and genre of every film differ, as the directors do. On average the films are eight minutes long, and were released on the Internet.

All of this says a lot about BMW and their awareness of their target market. In South Africa Internet access, especially at the speed to allow quality video streaming and the capacity to download large quantities of data, is not affordable to the average man on the street. People who buy and drive BMWs do so because they are passionate about the car – the look, the power, the speed, the status.

The cost alone to create these films, these ads, is as indulgent as buying your first, perhaps even fourth, tenth, BMW. Casting the incredibly handsome Clive Owen as the driver creates the association that men driving BMWs are irresistibly sexy and have indescribable driving abilities. It is something that appeals to both men and woman – you want to be him or be with him. So people go out and buy BMWs and in turn their social lives thrive? Not quite; that would imply that BMW owners need a vehicle to substitute their self-esteem. Instead, the vehicle amplifies their belief that they are good looking, intelligent and privileged.

BMW realises that their market is one that wants to feel in charge and capable. For most part these people have proved themselves in all areas of life and chooses to reward themselves with something a little indulgent. A new car – but not just any car – a car that is associated with status without being over the top. Modest, yet luxurious.

Something that is sheer driving pleasure.

The eight titles in The Hire series: Ambush, Chosen, The Follow, Star, Powder Keg, Hostage, Ticker, Beat The Devil.

Except for the few people who will lament they are useless in order to receive compliments and praise, a lot of us struggle with genuine insecurity over our skills. We tell ourselves that we can’t do things: we’re not talented, creative, clever, resourceful enough. Yet deep down we know it is not true, but for whatever reason we believe it is.

Thanks to lots of therapy (what are you snorting at?) I’ve started to explore why I have this silly ‘I-am-not-good-enough’ complex, which stands in stark contradiction to my determination, ambition and competitive personality. Sure it would be easier to say “Well, my closest friends, certain members of my family and a variety of total strangers can’t all be wrong”. Something about treating the symptom but not the disease? And it’s true (I’m not conceited in admitting this; you have no idea how long it has taken me to get to this point); I have a way with words. I write flowing, entertaining copy; I can hide being an utter bitch under diplomacy.

I am also as good an example as anyone else that the only thing that limits one’s potential is oneself.

Last year, like every other year for the past six years, I had this grand idea of studying something. An idea that has resulted in a lot of wasted money and nothing to prove, partly as a result of self-doubt, and a little due to my utter inability to grasp anything related to accounting. Circumstances prevented me from doing the wasteful/disappointing exercise, but this year I registered for a copywriting short course at Vega.

The day to start the course arrived and I faced the stressful route from Pretoria to Johannesburg via the N14 and northern suburb traffic. Two hours later I was sitting in a class with eleven strangers. Another two hours later I started the hour long commute home.

I called my best friend in tears. The (substantial – at least for me) deposit I had paid for the course is non-refundable, but that paled in comparison to the amount of money I’m going to have to spend on the additional 240 km I needed to travel every week for the next 11 weeks. Not to mention the physical exhaustion. And I may not know anything about accounting, but three hours’ travel for two hours’ class just didn’t balance to me. I’m not going back, I declared.

After patiently listening he calmly tells me to sleep on the decision. The next morning he convinces me to go back once more at least, and that he’ll assist me financially where possible. Finally I admit the real reason I don’t want to go back (because you can’t argue with someone that rational): I am doubting my ability to make a success of the course. My friend responds: “I know you can do this, your mother know it, as does your boss. Go back and prove to yourself you can. You know you can”.

Two months, two assignments and an average of 64,5% later (and no, I’m not procrastinating by writing this, despite having another assignment due in a little more than 24 hours. Promise!), I have never been more grateful for my wise friend. And the encouraging words of the lecturers.

I only have six compulsory trips to Johannesburg left. I’m both relieved and sad about it. But now, more than ever, I’m convinced that I am brilliantly creative. Okay, maybe that’s a little conceited, but that I am everything everyone I hold dear is telling me I am, and that I need to tell myself I am – because I know I am – is true.

Having a barista as a colleague has been a great help. He brought me some roasted orzo, a type of grain, which when roasted is used as a coffee substitute in parts of Italy. Because it contains no caffeine, it is also safe to serve to children. I won’t do that though. This morning he brought me some green coffee beans, some in their hulls still. It’s really cool to see that. Hulled coffee can be stored for up to ten years, and green coffee beans for up to a year. Once your coffee is roasted and ground, it is best to use it within two weeks, storing it in airtight containers.

I’m not a very sweet girl, so I take lots of sugar (and milk – cream if I can, or the ultimate indulgence: hold the sugar and pass me some sweetened condensed milk, yum!), so I get that I’m losing out on the most of the taste and flavour of coffee. I can still taste if a roast is burnt though, ick, and I prefer my coffee not too strong. A lot of coffee drinkers will sneer at me, but my favourite coffee indulgence is a 500 ml latte from Wild Bean Café on a cool morning. It’s cheaper (and healthier I tell myself) than my favourite winter beverage – Chocolate Quente (available at vida e and made with lots of Lindt chocolate).

Nutmeg is another greatly fascinating topic. It’s amazing the superstitious history that accompanied this seed. In excessively large quantities nutmeg can be poisonous, and I even read the account of someone who experimented with this spice as a recreational drug. It didn’t seem too pleasant, and I would try or recommend it. Nutmeg is the seed of the fruit that grows on the nutmeg tree, and can be used in sweet or savoury dishes to give it some warmth with its yummy fragrance. Whole nutmegs again stays fresh a lot longer than the ground product does. Nutmeg oil is sometimes even used in the cheese-making process!

I’ve started a little collection of things I’ve written about, stored in little origami boxes (I’m talented like that), and look forward to do a lot more such writing. It’s really such a difference to write about something once you’ve actually interacted with it, or at least part of it.

As soon as my articles are available online I will upload the links to them. But now I need a cuppa java!

We have smartphones so we can check our work e-mails when we happen to wake up in the middle of the night from a bad dream, which more than likely originated from a horror ebook we read earlier, or the gory YouTube video we watched on the very same gadget. We dread Internetlessness. We wouldn’t mind not having a phone, because we don’t like talking to people anyway – we’d rather text them, or better still, IM.

We multitask to our own detriment. Interestingly enough, a friend highlighted one of the anxiously-anticipated iPad’s failures as the inability to have more than one window/screen/tab/app open. We are about multiple tabs. We listen to audio books while driving, eating, writing a letter to your mother, and not realising that we are missing out on the experience; the scenic route, the delicate balance of flavours and textures, the emotion of longing, the smell and feel of a new book that has its spine cracked for the first time. We don’t think about it, so it doesn’t bother us. You can’t miss what you don’t know you don’t have. And then you realise you missed your turn somewhere because you weren’t concentrating on the road. Or someone cut you off in traffic and you missed half a chapter because you were swearing at them. The price we pay for multitasking is never having the full experience. That could be a good thing or a bad thing – depending on the event.

As I am typing this, I’m listening to music, checking my e-mail and catching up on my Twitter-stream. I can’t help it – I’ve mutated to live this way. I was born Generation X and raised on outdoor playing, drive-in theatres, libraries and so-called snail mail. I did ballet, played chess on a wooden board with wooden pieces, had a home-cooked meal at least once a day, every day. I first used the Internet when I was in high school; got my first encyclopaedia on disk after school and only in 1999 experienced a chat room – and I was by no means a late bloomer (although far from a trendsetter too).

I try to imagine how the next generation will experience life. They will have to Google things like VHS (not to mention Betamax!), Moomin, Die Pikkewouters van Amperstamperland and various other television shows we watched. I can’t find books of Victoria Plum anywhere, and I love that little pixie in her Morning Glory outfit. The programmes we used to watch were about friendship and teamwork, not alien watches, robot-cars or games played with alien elements that fell from the sky. I read comics about Superman and The Incredible Hulk – today they are only known as movie and game characters. The next generation, I imagine, will be utterly bored by text-based adventure games like “The Talisman of Braminar” (my absolute favourite), the ancient graphics of “California Games”, and shocked to see the first archaeological copy of “Prince of Persia”.

The next generation has been born what we have become – the trendsetters, the connected, an iGeneration. Petrified of not being informed, of not being ahead of the curve, of switching off, of not owning the latest gadget.

Despite all our desperate attempts, we are physically not able to process all the information in the wide world via the web – even if we could access it all. So isn’t it time to step back and simplify? I’m sure someone’s already in the process of developing that app.

First I wrote an article on innovation and inventions, specifically looking at South African talent. Each year SABS launches a search for inventions that will change the world. On page 36/7 you can read about ‘Inventions of note on home turf’.

On page 50 ‘You say tomato‘ is about the so-called tree-tomato, better known as a Tamarillo. It was incredibly interesting to research that. It is a huge export for NZ.

The article ‘Fantastic elastic‘ on page 56/7 is all about rubber. I did a bucket load of research on the topic, and in the end had to cut about half of the article to keep it from getting too long-winded. It was fascinating to write after the article I did for African Connexion about the shortage of tyres in the mining and construction industries.

Having two double-spread articles in a single publication was really great. In the current edition there’s only one article of mine, which I’ll upload at a later stage. Currently I’m working on a couple of articles again; very interesting topics, and a little animal/insect life to vary my general plant research.