Draconian Censorship

As the title says it all, draconian censorship means to put a muzzle on the media basically to shut them up. Therefore government can continue with their corrupted behaviour and still get away with it. It is an extremely harsh censorship and the only people who will benefit from this are government.

We can literally kiss investigative journalism good-bye and welcome ‘believe what you read’ with open arms because we will only get one side of the story- Yip, you better believe it. 

Does democracy not mean anything anymore? What happened to freedom of speech and expression? All these years spent fighting for our rights will be flushed down the toilet. We cannot allow government to get away with this; we have to put up a fight. We need to make sure that our voices are heard before it is too late.

But the protection bill does seem like governments own personalised condom, let’s just hope it breaks. 

Running out of ideas...

After 45 blogs I have officially hit writers block. In the beginning, coming up with blog topics came so easily, but now I actually have to take time out and think about it. It has become a real pain in the neck for me and that is why I’m blogging about it.

Blogging every week has somewhat improved our writing skills. It is also very interesting to see how my group members interpret the different topics. Let’s hope that this will be the last of my writers block streak otherwise expect more mediocre blog topics.

I think it is ‘that time of the year’ when we all run out of creative juices and energy. We definitely need to take time out to recharge our batteries and drink our creative juice. It really isn’t easy coming up with new and fresh ideas for blog topics, even if it is what we as PRP’s do best.

A skill set called leadership

Leadership is a skill that you either have or you don’t. Some people are born to be natural leaders and others are followers. Leadership is one of those rare traits that can be used to your advantage throughout your life but be careful not to abuse it. Leaders are there to guide, motivate and advise others regardless of the choices they make. Followers look up to these leaders in seek for these things. They want sound advice from a more experienced and rational source. By abusing this trait you will lose the trust of the followers and this may be irrecoverable.
Being a leader is not easy and can come with its own set of challenges as any other trait would. It is a skill set that would set you apart from another individual, it is a skill set called leadership.

My first camel ride

My camel ride was supposed to take place on Saturday 28, August 2010, but due to the rain I was not able to go. So I postponed my adventure to the day after (Sunday) hoping and praying that it would not rain- thankfully it didn’t.

With Sunday’s weather being nothing short of a beautiful day, I was eager to experience my first camel ride at the Imhoff Farm in Kommetjie. It is the only place in the south of Cape Town where you can ride camels.

The three camels were sitting on my right as I pulled into the entrance of the Imhoff Farm, as if they were patiently waiting for me. The mere sight of them got me all excited and nervous as I have never seen a real camel before. I didn’t realise that they were so big. I hesitantly walked up to where they were sitting in a sand pit enjoying their breakfast.

An overwhelming feeling of anxiety rushed over me as I approached them, hoping they wouldn’t bite me. The riding instructor was quick to r assure me that the camels are very passive creatures and they do not bite. They tend to make a sound similar to the sound of a donkey, but hearing them make a noise would frighten even the bravest. This is their way of communicating with each other.

I was told to hold onto the front and back rears because as these gentle giants rise you are automatically tipped forward. At the same time you need to push yourself back otherwise you will head-first in the sand. As Izak slowly rose I felt my tummy flop, almost like you are riding in a car and you go fast over a hill- it’s that exact feeling. But after being tipped forward the ride is pretty enjoyable if your camel co-operates, which mine didn’t- would be me to get a stubborn camel.

It was suppose to be a 25 minute ride in the nearby forest but Izak thought that 10 minutes was more than enough and he just wouldn’t go any further. I didn’t even get to go into the forest; I only did two lapse of the same, yet very short route.

But nonetheless the experience of riding a camel for the first time is something that I will always remember. Even though Izak was a little stubborn, it definitely made the experience worthwhile.
Camel riding certainly has nothing on horse riding and if you think it does then I suggest that you try this one out.

“Rock journalism is people who can’t write interviewing people who can’t talk for people who can’t read” (Frank Zappa)

I think that rock music and journalism is misunderstood especially if rock music is not one of your preferences. Some might agree with the above statement and say the same thing about rap or hip-hop. It all comes down to understanding the message behind the lyrics. Yes, sometimes we don’t always understand what some of the lyrics means but it might make sense to someone else.


All genres of music and artists should be able to get the recognition for what they do. Rock journalism also gives us an insight and an understanding of the rock culture.
Rock journalism is real and is here to stay because there is a market for it.

The end is near

I can’t believe that we have just over a month left at tech and then we will have completed our Btech. It is such a relief that this year is finally coming to an end but the mere thought of the ‘real world’ lurking around the corner makes me feeling very anxious for what lies ahead.

It is time to say goodbye to tech holidays, afternoon naps, Friday’s off and a relatively easy-going lifestyle. It is also time to say hello working world, SARS tax forms, demanding bosses and uncooperative colleagues- oh the joys!

But we all have to enter the working world sooner or later.

Let us make the most of these last few months and give it our all even though we might be feeling despondent. We have put in many long hours and we will soon reach the benefits of it. We just need to stay positive and keep going- easier said than done right? Take a deep breath and let us plunge head first into the last stretch-The end is near and here’s to making every moment count.

My 200 achievements (aka my 100 achievements)

1. My first words
2. My first steps/ learning to walk
3. My first tooth
4. Having my ears pierced when I was 3 months old
5. Learning to read and write
6. Learning to tie my shoe laces
7. Learning to ride a bicycle with training wheels
8. Learning to ride a bicycle without training wheels
9. Learning how to swim
10. Doing my First Confession
11. Doing my first Holy Communion
12. Overcoming the fears and anxiety of my first day at primary school
13. Dealing with the loss of my grandmother
14. Receiving a certificate in grade 1 for best progress
15. Passing grade 1
16. Receiving a certificate in grade 2 for best progress in reading and maths
17. Passing grade 2
18. Receiving a certificate in grade 3 for consistent hard worker
19. Passing grade 3
20. Receiving a certificate in grade 4 for consistent hard worker
21. Passing grade 4
22. Receiving a certificate in grade 3 for outstanding project work
23. Passing grade 5
24. Learning to play netball
25. Learning to play squash
26. Auditioning for my first primary school concert
27. Participating in my first primary school concert
28. Learning to roller blade
29. Participating in my first primary school swimming gala
30. Learning to use a cellphone
31. Learning to use a computer
32. Baby sitting my nephew
33. Changing my nephew’s nappy for the first time
34. Learning to speak Xhosa- I can only remember a few sentences though
35. Passing grade 6
36. Being selected to be a perfect in grade 7
37. Passing grade 7
38. Being accepted to attended Bergvliet High School
39. Overcoming the fears and anxiety of my first day at high school
40. Passing grade 8
41. Learning to blow-dry my own hair (saved me a lot of money)
42. Participating in my first hip-hop dance performance
43. Passing grade 9
44. Building houses for Habitat for Humanity
45. Learning how to bake
46. Passing grade 10
47. Passing grade 11
48. Receiving my first service award for being on the my high school’s catering committee
49. Going to a club for the first time, which was the Galaxy and I was underage- LOL
50. Being confirmed
51. Learning to drive a car
52. Finding my matric ball dress 2 months before the dance
53. Being a youth leader for a holiday club at church
54. Passing matric/ grade 12
55. Learning to tolerate my brother
56. Being successful in my first interview at Woolworths
57. Learning to operate a till at Woolworths
58. Taking a train on my own for the first time
59. Earning my first pay cheque
60. Being accepted to study PR at CPUT
61. Breaking out of my comfort zone on more than one occasion
62. Getting over an ex boyfriend
63. Overcoming the fears and anxiety of my first day at university
64. Learning to deal with depression
65. Learning to change a tyre
66. Sticking to assignment deadlines
67. Sleeping for three hours straight
68. Learning to procrastinate
69. Completing my first leisure studies hike in first year- Table mountain was no joke!
70. Waking up every Saturday and Sunday to work (part-time job)- a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do
71. Planning and hosting my first successful baby shower
72. Singing karaoke for the first time
73. Learning to work an automatic washing machine
74. Learning to use the internet
75. Learning to send emails
76. Learning how to be independent
77. Learning to use a GHD
78. Doing my first formal university presentation
79. Learning to stand up for myself in difficult situations
80. Learning how to use social media and to expression your opinions
81. Learning how to budget even though it doesn’t always work
82. Passing my learners licence twice
83. Plucking up the courage to dye my hair for the first time
84. Being a successful candidate for an internship position in 3^rd year
85. Running my first 5km race in 35 minutes
86. Receiving a medal for completing the race
87. Turning 21
88. Passing my drivers licence after three attempts
89. Graduating with my national diploma in public relations management
90. Watching Gossip Girl season 1 and 2 in one day
91. Giving up alcohol for Lent- 40 days
92. Being accepted into the PR Btech course
93. Being a successful candidate for a position at Clicks- current part time job
94. Learning all the products at on the cosmetics counter at Clicks
95. Riding a camel for the first time
96. Managing the PR 2^nd years and their writing portfolios
97. Trying to write all my achievement that I can remember
98. Learning to put others needs before my own
99. Paying for my first traffic fine
100. Being a successful applicant to a PR job commencing in October this year