Archive for the ‘General’ Category

The Top 10 Finalists in each category of the 2010 SA Blog Awards have been nominated thanks to all you loved ones.
Now before I get right into the guts of this whole thing, let me just tell you that I was completely shocked and surprised at the outcome… do read on…

Now since Friday evening I've been anxiously checking out the SA Blog Awards website for a glimpse of the results. Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday., nails virtually bitten down to the cuticles, I hate being kept in suspense, what were the judges putting me through, yeah it's my first time I know but then on Wednesday at around lunch time I checked the website expecting to get the usual "Nominations are now closed" ne ne ne babble that I'd seen for days, but then, caught totally off guard, there was a change on the page, there they were in all their glory, the Top 10 Finalists in each category… instantly I scurried down the page scanning it like a frickin bar code reader for the 'The Best Overseas South African Blog' finalists, and there it was PharSide.co.uk with a nice little vote button next to it, an uncontrollable smile appeared on my face, kinda like the face Ewan McGregor pulls when he has a hit of a very bad substance in the movie Trainspotting. I had my fix and damn it felt good So after my little moment I scrolled down to check if I made it into the "Best New Blog" category just incase, sadly not but at least I'd made it into the one I'd been gunning for which was awesome! I then started scrolling up to see who had made it into what, and that's when I arrived at the 'The Exclus1ves Best Entertainment Blog' category… Now let me tell you that, eyes like saucers and falling off the back of my chair is an extreme understatement in its purest form of what it was really like, because there it was, another PharSide.co.uk with a nice little vote button next to it. I think I muttered the words for this abbreviation, WTF in extreme slow motion at that moment. I couldn't believe it, this was totally unexpected, this was the category I chose because I couldn't find another suitable category and selected it "just for shits 'n giggles", not because I think PharSide is shit, but purely because I'm a bit of a realist and knew fully well that this would be a bit out of my league due to the awesome well established blogs that have stood the test of time I'd seen out there, who'd pat my puppy head if I'd ever met their owners in person.  This was insane, it dawned on me that I am now up head to head with two of my favourite blogs, namely Bangers and Nash and 2OceansVibe, the latter being the inspiration that kickstarted this whole thing I call, PharSide. To say I feel slightly honoured is an absolute joke…

So the voting round is now in play which runs until the 17th September, and I don't think I need to remind you who to vote for by clicking this link…

Here's my take on how I reckon the final rankings are going to unfold and why… you need to vote for these mkay!

-The Exclus1ves Best Entertainment Blog -

1st Place: 2OceansVibe – Like I said I'm a realist, Seth is well established, he works frickin hard at it, has an awesome vibe and he does have the best blog in SA as far as I'm concerned, as long as he's in the tub, from 2nd place and down is its own compo.

2nd Place: Bangers and Nash – because he's awesome, very different, very original and also has an awesome vibe… not mention he wants to live up to his bedroom mantra by always coming second as seen here.

3rd Place: PharSide.co.uk – Because you know it has to happen, 3rd place is even better than 1st or 2nd, I'm like the guy that walks in on two hot blonde lesbians in a porno… he ALWAYS comes 3rd and has the most fun …and just for the record, no I am not referring to Seth and Nash as two hot blonde lesbians… geez c'mon people!

- The Best Overseas South African Blog - 

1st Place: PharSide.co.uk - Because thats life and thats the way things are, plus as an added extra, since the Republic of Cape Town dominates the Blog Awards, being a Durban boi is pretty much classified as being Overseas anyway… so I'm not just doing this for my London crowd, but all my rocking Durban crowd aswell! 

- The Best Indigenous Language Blog - 

1st Place: WatKykJy – because Griff and co are everything that the new generation Afrikaaner stands for and I like it.

Sadly I don't see my boys from Woelag in there but in all fairness, they blerrie well should be!

The final Blog Of The Year Award is open game

So gang, thats may take whats what, so get those clicky fingers ready and vote away, you can start right here

btw…On the 17th September, PharSide will be one year old (seriously, what a coincidence, check back when the first post was), votes and cash donations are accepted as birthday presents

Just want to say a huge thanks to every single one of you for getting PharSide this far in the game, you are all absolutely AWESOME! Your continued support is what drives this whole thing and very much appreciated! Now give yourself a nice little pat on the back

Laters

- Marky Mark

If you're on Facebook? wait what am I thinking… I guess you all need to read this…
Along with the many other scams on Facebook, there is a new scam in particular that is doing the rounds which is bound to catch a few people out… The Dislike button… why? because it's something that everyone wants…

Is no secret really, we have the ability to "Like" something on Facebook, just like you should "Like" this article but at this current time there is no official "Dislike" button on Facebook where you can dislike a friend's status update after they've advised just how relieved they feel after a big poo, or when soon-to-be mothers, post those weird horrifying looking 3D images of their unborn child, that they still call beautiful!… which really freaks me out btw… but yes, we all want a dislike button, however Facebook's head honcho Mark Zuckerberg, recently told Diane Sawyer in an interview that "they would think about it". One thing to keep in mind is that as with most things released by Facebook such as this, you won't need to install anything, it'll just be there, just like the many other things that arrive on your home page.

I'm surprised this didn't comes sooner, although I vaguely remember something like this in the past but I may be wrong.

The scam looks something like this…

As with many scams on Facebook, I guess you could call them FaceBook Viruses too, as soon as you click on it, it will attempt to steal your personal information and then most likely start pasting itself on all your mates walls and stuff.

There are loads out there, like the other day I saw something like "This girl committed Suicide after looking at this", now obviously people are curious and would click on it, although why on earth would you want to see something like that or think that something like that would be real. Common sense is key here people, Facebook is cool and it now forms a staple part of most of our lives, but there are some freaks out there, just like those people who stop you in the street to sell you shit, that know that very well too… so if it sounds too unlikely, impossible or just plainly too good to be true, think twice before you get all clicky happy… because the next minute you know, someone has opened a credit card in your name and you now owe the bank a few grand… yip, it happens  

Have a nice day now

[Source: Mashable]

- Marky Mark

If there's one part of being a South African in London is that no matter how long you're here, there is one thing that will always cause spontaneous laughter or pure frustration… and that is, our wonderful accent…

While those who invented the English language sometimes need to go back to school to learn that its not pronounced "innit" but rather, "isn't it" and "wha eva" should in fact be pronounced, "what ever". Now I know you're probably thinking this is a bit random, which it probably is, but you weren't the one on the phone the other day talking to a "voice recognition" machine trying to change the your address for your TV license… good luck for those who are about to move house and have to endure the pain, I do feel for you. After repeating virtually every word a million times and receiving the prompt, seemingly sarcastic response, "Sorry, I didn't get that… please speak slowly and clearly", my poor beloved iPhone almost met its end in pieces on the floor.. turning my frustration into a bit of fun, I decided to put on a bit of a chav accent and I shit you not… it virtually got it all in one go… obviously my fun was short lived but that virtual slap in the face from the bitch on the other end of the line.

Kinda makes you feel like this poor bastards… voice recognition doesn't understand Scottish either…

Trust me, I know how these okes feel…

Now its not only machines that don't understand South African accents, as many of you have no doubt experienced first hand.

Like if you say 1 2 3 4 5, this is interpreted as 1 2 3 4 9 to the common Englishman. And try stop a person in the street and ask where you can find Ice Cream… you will get a very strange look as this is interpreted as "Arse Cream".. however the English are being educated on our lingo somewhat, thanks to our friends in the Lick Your Viva Ad

Working in an office environment I have endured years of ridicule over our awesome accent, such when I say, "Right I'm off", if I pause I would no doubt get this echo, "so are your ORF Mark?" followed by a lame giggle.

I will tell you this though, as I found out first hand, if you are a dude then now is the time to concentrate, our interpretation is VERY different from what the English version means…

That my friends, it the word "Buggered"… yip… I was once asked what I did on the weekend by a work colleague.. my reply was quite simply and to the effect of, "Nort, I was so buggered on Saturday I stayed in for a change"… now at first I couldn't figure out what had caused everyone around me to start laughing… that was until someone told me the "English" meaning of the word Buggered… let just say it's something that Ronan gets up to

Girls don't think you get off lightly…A friend of mine worked in a hotel here in London, and was the only young female amongst some old toppies at a weekly meeting. On the agenda was a complaint from the reception staff that they would like heaters on the floor by their feet in winter as it gets very cold in the reception. My friend was asked if she had experienced this when she helped cover the reception if they were short on staff… her reply: "It doesn't really bother me that much but it does when I don't wear pants"… lets just say she's never seen a whole boardroom full of old farts start blushing so quickly in her life before… soon after she realised that, whilst we call pants, pants… the English interpretation of pants is of course panties

Apparently we do however sound quite posh when we say, Ja… go figure

Now I'm sure you probably have a story to tell… so bang it in the comments 

- Marky Mark

It's that time of year that I've been waiting for ever since converting PharSide from a neglected website into a steamy blog for your entertainment. Yes, The 2010 South African Blog Awards are now underway and this will be the first year PharSide will be competing against the big dogs!

A short time after PharSide became a full on blog last September, I found out that every year an event is held in The Republic of Cape Town, where the masters of the South African Bloggersphere secretly congregate and give eachother a nice little pat on the back for eachother's efforts over the past year. Now as some of you may have noticed, the way in which I live my life is that I don't wait around for people to say I can't do something, because if I think there is the slightest hint that anyone could say such a thing, I go out and do it, not only proving to myself and everyone else that just about anything is possible in this world, but it tends to become a rather amusing feit at the same time.

So with that said, I thought, schweet, lets do it, lets "gatecrash" the party somewhat, and let the masters know in SA, that there's this little shit, sitting far away in London town that also wants a frickin award!

Although without your good self, this will be like firing a water pistol at a sherman tank, so… Howz about a chance hey If you schmaak PharSide tjoon over to the right hand column and gooi me a kiff nomination ekse, it only takes a few seconds so do it, do it…

PharSide has been entered into the following 3 categories:

Best Overseas South African Blog

Best Entertainment Blog

Best New Blog

You just have to nominate once and your vote will go into the count for those 3 categories…. simples

The 2010 SA Blog Awards ceremony will be held on the 25th September 2010 and voting is open until the 27th August, after which the top 10 voted blogs in each category will be selected and from there its up to the judges.

So if PharSide wins any one of these categories it will be absolutely AWESOME! In which case, I reckon a massive jol will be in order… 

So lets go gang, clickitty click

- Marky Mark

I've had quite a lot of people emailing to tell me that PharSide tends to freeze up when they visit it from their work PC's… Well here's why… 

So you're sitting at work and the first thing you wanna do when you've got in is, well check whats happening on your favourite blog ofcourse… You type www.pharside.co.uk into your browser with increasing excitement as you type each letter in a complete frenzy, slamming down on the Enter key virtually putting a hole through your keyboard. Your heart starts pulsating as the page in all its awesomeness starts to load… but then… it stops… your pulse starts racing in complete panic with sweat dripping down your face because you just can't wait. You start slapping the side of the screen like a crazed chimpanzee but still nothing… and from that point on, your day is completely ruined…

Well, I'm a nice guy and the mental stability of my readers is a major concern to me, so I got my Sherlock Holmes hat and my magnifying glass heading straight into the code that one PharSider managed to salvage before throwing his computer out his 9th story window. Well my little treasures, I have found the problem. 

It's quite simple really… You've probably noticed that you can't access FaceBook from work either (the bastards!) and you're probably using the bog standard Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 on your work PC…. If you fit this description then this is where you are doing it wrong… Now I know you can't help the FaceBook problem, but you sure as hell can help the Internet Explorer problem… you see, it would appear that when Internet Explorer 7 loads a page and tries to load content that is blocked, it is too stupid to know what to do so it just stops and tjoons, Haaibo! Ungaas!?! Now the FaceBook content that it is trying to load is the useful "Recent Activity" section on the right and side column and the Fan Box at the bottom of the page. 

The the way to get around this is to tjoon your IT dude that you can't use Internet Explorer because its a load of shit (trust me, 99% of the time he will totally agree… and think he's found a new lifelong friend) and you would much rather prefer using FireFox or Google Chrome since these are far superior web browsers that know what to do when they encounter blocked content, which is quite simply, skip it and load the rest of the blerrie page.

Personally I'd recommend that you always use Google Chrome, why? because I use it and it's awesome! However Firefox is pretty much on par and has more compatibility with things like your Internet Banking and stuff (mind you, a lot safer to use for this purpose than Internet Explorer)

I'm not sure how the page behaves with Internet Explorer 8 but if it gives you hassles… you know what to do.

Of course if you are reading this then you don't have the problem but might have it when you're at work so at least you're then armed with vital information in order to continue getting your daily dose of PharSide

Click the relevant image below to get what all the cool kids have got these days….

 Get Google Chrome!

Get Mozilla FireFox!

- Marky Mark

You may have noticed I've been just a touch slow on posts this week… well here's why….

Myself and the Jen decided that it would be in our best interests to upgrade to a new dashing HQ.
After a brief search around and a bit of wheeling and dealing, we managed to find an absolute gem of a pad.

Trust me when I say this, it doesn't get any more central to Wimbledon than this… its ridiculous! Many who know me personally will burst out laughing when they find out, since its location couldn't be any more convenient for me, and The Jen… lets just say, its about 100 steps to Marky Mark's Bar of Choice, Bar Sia, about 50 steps from Marky Mark and The Jen's favourite curry spot, Kafe Karahi, and about 100 steps from Marky Mark's recommended pre-midnight jol, The Slug. Timing it this morning, it took me no more than 4mins to walk from the front door to Wimbledon Station. The new PharSide HQ has an awesome open plan kitchen and lounge which leads on to a much bigger than London average grass lawn, perfect for all the awesome hot, sunny weekend braai's we are gonna have here this summer (don't tell The Jen I said that). It also has a second room equally sized to the main playpen, which is now my hoffice from where I shall infect your precious innocent minds, and not to mention house all my recording equipment so that I can finally get down to recording some material. And no, this is not a room for mates to live in for "just a couple of nights", remember I'm a London Saffa veteran and "just a couple nights" is never, "just a couple nights", so don't even bother asking because here is your answer right here….NO!  

Anyway, enough about the awesomeness of the new HQ, lets get around as to why I've been a little slow this week. 
We moved into the new HQ over the weekend and I would just like to point out that after 8 years in London, it is quite ridiculously amazing of the amount of absolute crap that you accumulate… its as if useless crap is iron filings and I'm a frickin magnet, but yes after a good few trips and a bit of effing and blinding, we got it all here, but it doesn't stop there, no no… now the task of unpacking all this crap and finding a place to put it, is another story in itself. In the mean time however, I advised good old BT to move my phone line, it was supposed to be moved last Friday. Now I thought I'd be clever and call up my interweb providings a few days early, so that they could get their peoples to speak to BT's peoples, and they could marry up nicely on the day to cause me the least amount of downtime possible, simples!… well, lets just say in an ideal world that would be possible, but no…
As it turns out, you need to wait for BT to switch off the line at the old spot, move it across to the new HQ, and then only then once you get a dial tone, can you call up your interweb providings and get them to start their own process of moving your incredible connection across. As it turns out, the line wasn't moved on Friday or Saturday morning but seemed to happen sometime over the course of the weekend where on Sunday night, EUREKA! there was a frickin dial tone. So Monday morning I called up my interweb providings and they tell me the process will be completed within the next 6-10 days… I gulped… interweb connectivity to me is the same as heroin is to an addict, I got a beady cold sweat and a shortness of breath… but they did offer me free ring tings So being IT Is My Life and with the determination that, where there's a will, there's a frickin way, I managed to locate a wireless signal, weak and faint like a little bulb, slightly glowing in a very dark room, I was connected, and I am connected, however this does mean that it is incredibly slow and unreliable, to the extent that when I type out an entire article in the online admin backend of PharSide, then click Publish when I'm done only to be presented with "There was an error loading this webpage" beaming out at me from the screen, it can drive you to the very brink of grievous self harm. So for my own safety I've kept a little quiet this week

You've gotta hand it to my interweb providings though, they said 6-10 days, however I got an email and a txt yesterday to say that all tests were complete and I can expect my incredible connection this Friday.. YAY!  Lets just hope for their sake they stick to that promise, because if they don't, oh dear, they are going to have to give me more than just a few ring tings to make me happy again. Speaking of which, just to spark a bit of envy from our Saffa readers… my line here at home… 20Mb, uncapped, £10 a month, BOOM!… and trust me, thats pretty average over here these days.

Anyway, while I reach the end of this, I'm just frickin hoping that this doesn't error out, but I guess if you are reading this right now then obviously my wish came true and holding thumbs and toes while you click, really does work… in which case… PHEW!

So until next week…. I'll leave you with something quite fitting for the occasion….

- Marky Mark

We all know that Cape Town has got a vibe to be reckoned with… so trust Cape Town to be putting together a FIFA Fan Fest that is surely gonna blow the socks off just about any FIFA Fan Fest in the country, when you read what's going down…

The Cape Town FIFA Fan Fest is going to be rocking on down on Grand Parade, yes right in front of City Hall and next to South Africa's oldest building, The Castle which was Jan Van Riebeeck's pad when he rocked up on the shores of the Cape of Good Hope, where he tjooned a few hottentots "Jou Ma! Hoe lyk it my bra's!?!" So its got a fair amount of history, but also one of the greatest parts of its history is this is the very place where Nelson Mandela stood on the balcony on the day of his release in February 1990, where he addressed the nation as a free man after 27 years in prison. Now if you remember how many people were there that day, you know they aren't gonna have much trouble fitting a maximum of 25 000 people in the area thats for sure. 

The vibe kicks off at 11am and doesn't stop all the way through to 11pm with free entrance on match days. Just in case you are wondering its only 2.6km (just over 1.5 miles) from Green Point Stadium.

So enough of the technical mambo jumbo… this is what you can expect when you get those butt cheeks down there….

There is gonna be a massive line up of entertainment to ensure that everybody gets stuck right into the FIFA World Cup Experience. On match days, all the FIFA World Cup Matches happening around the country on that day will be broadcast live on a monster size 74sqm screen. Just when you thought you'd take a breather between games, they are gonna keep the vibe right up there by banging on some live local talent such as….wait for it….. GOLDFISH… along with, Freshly Ground, K'naan, Gang of Instruments plus loads of local DJ's, marimba bands and other emerging talent.

With well over 100 performances, there are going to me loads more attractions at the Cape Town FIFA Fan Fest such as arts and Craft stalls, food and beverage stands for refueling, as well as activity zones with 5 a side footy pitches, not to mention, group match viewing experiences inside the historic city hall itself.

For more info including the programme, check out www.capetownfifafanfest.com

The Themed Days sound like they are gonna be quite interesting, check them out on the website.

If you aren't lucky enough to be going, tjoon your mates, aswell as your pasty English mates at work who many of them are no doubt going to be making the trip over there in 16 days time for a bit of a tanning session.

I'd actually just like to point out that I'm pretty bummed I'm not gonna be there now

- Marky Mark

He even posted his PharSide Nando's article on his own personal website would you believe it… true's bob.

On Friday afternoon and I was checking out my daily traffic stats, you know, where it tells how many awesome people such as yourself are digesting what I'm serving on PharSide. I just happened to notice that I was getting a number of visitors from http://www.juliusmalema.co.za/. Obviously this drew my attention since the page visitors were being sent to was in fact the JuJu's Nando's Ad article that I posted on Thursday here. So I popped over to the website and low and behold, there it was, the nice fully titled link to the PharSide article right on his front page, just to the left of his "Apology to President Jacob Zuma".

Just in case you don't believe me, I took the time to take a nice little screenshot for your viewing pleasure since its no longer available on the site (Click to Enlarge)

Now I know you're probably thinking what I initially thought… is this really his own website?… well apparently it is, according to Wikipedia

The conclusion I can come up with though is that his "Latest Julius Malema News" seems to be an automatic RSS feed that possibly updates with any news that mentions "Julius Malema" in its title that is posted on Google.

Now if this is the case then firstly I'd say this is a bit of an epic fail on JuJu's part, and secondly, I may have just opened a little can of worms and started a little trend of fun where other bloggers could just about say anything about JuJu and it will get displayed on his very own blog….

just saying

- Marky Mark

On the 30th April flights from Louis Botha airport in Durban waved good-bye for the very last time because on the 1st May those returning flights were landing at the snazzy new addition to Durban, King Shaka International Airport… yes thats right, apparently the runway is now long enough for a 747 to land, which means, direct flights from London without a pit stop in Joburg when all you want to do is get to Durban and get some beach sand in your crack…

The airport is situated near La Mercy which is north of Durban, just a short drive passed Umhlanga

Check out these schweet panoramic pics of the new King Shaka International Airport…

[Show as slideshow]

It does make me wonder how many muppets rocked up at Louis Botha airport on the 1st May only to find out they were at the wrong airport… I bet you saw some low flying on the N2 northbound on that day

Shame

- Marky Mark

If you go down to the Moses Mabhida Stadium today, you're in for a big surprise… For anyone who is about to go on holiday to Durban I suggest you put this way up at the top of your list… because if you are like me who only found out about this two days after I arrived back in London, you'll definately be kicking yourself for not "taking the plunge" on the Big Rush Urban Adrenaline big swing!

While I was in Durban recently we decided to take a ride over to the new Moses Mabhida Stadium for a trip up to the top of the arch in the little Sky Cart, and take a few pics of the awesome view… and so we did… it was a nice very calm and peaceful experience, something you'd normally do on a nice family outing, well The Phreak was with me so I guess that does classify it as a family outing, not to mention the very large families that were going up there that day. However, and I'll say this in all caps to express my disappointment… IF I ONLY FRICKIN KNEW!!! what was going on on the other side of that blerrie arch, we would have found that that is where the party was at, because on the opposite side of the seemingly OAP/Family/Kiddie side of the arch is where you get to take a little ride on this little swing which is definately not for minors, or people with a heart condition for that matter… This little swing is known as the big swing, which is run by Big Rush Urban Adrenaline. This consists of a piece of rope attached to the top of the arch and you attached to the other end, leaping from a platform 106m off the pitch, swinging about 220m across the inside of the entire stadium at over 120km/h after a nice 60m free fall…. sound like fun? you fuckin right it does! 

The jump will set you back R595 which is roughly a mild £50 if you're taking the big caroonas over and another R150 to get it filmed… not to mention if you want your mates to sit in the stands watching you pull funny faces in absolute fear of your life, it'll cost them R30 each for the pleasure.

Fortunately for my good friend Andy Brown, he saw it on the BBC before heading over to SA and had it right at the top of his list of activities when he arrived… 

Check the video below of Andy's jump!… absolutely livid that I didn't get to do it!

Run Forrest Run! haha

Anyway, check how cool and awesome my ride down was

wah wah waaaaah! FAIL!

Andy 1 Marky 0!

For more info, check out http://www.bigrush.co.za/

- Marky Mark