California turns Happy Meals smile upside down

The obesity epidemic sweeping California, as well as the rest of America, has forced the Lawmakers in California to flex their muscles.



Soon children all over the US are going to be greeted with a sad surprise in their Happy Meals. Officials in California claim that the free toys/gifts accompanied in the Happy Meal are luring children into eating foods with high sugar, sodium and fat. Really? Not in my day. Usually if you decide to purchase a Happy Meal as a six – year – old, it would require your parents consent. Can you say bad parenting? Seems like another case of the Government acting like mommy and daddy. As far as I can remember, as a child if you’re successful in your attempt to strong arm ‘the parents’ into forking out for a Happy Meal, you’re doing it for the toys – definitely not for the food. Raw deal for ‘the parents’ then, having to deal with an entirely ear shattering fog - horn like scream of a six – year – old on a mission, and left with the haunting meal when the tirade is over.

That meal will more than likely end up in the trash, or in the rear end of mommy or daddy.

The ‘suits’ in Government are claiming that banning toys from the Happy Meal will, ‘break the link between unhealthy food and prizes.’ Okay that’s all good and fine, try telling that to Burger King and KFC. On that matter try telling that to everyone else in the fast food chain. Will they give two shits? No. They might give two burgers though.

It’s a business, plain and simple. McDonalds do advertise their Happy Meals, along with the toys/gifts inside. But all things considered they aren’t the voice inside your head.

Childhood obesity in the US has tripled in the last thirty years. Two – thirds of Americans – roughly 190 million people - are now said to be medically overweight. Scary. That’s some example the US in setting for their children. So what’s the problem? Is the American lifestyle too lazy and this in turn is affecting their children? Maybe fast – food is too easily accessible? Push up the price and drop the weight. That could be a credible solution.
Kids growing up in today’s generation need toys. They need to have fun. Removing toys from children won’t stop them from accessing fast – food, it will make them miserable. So well done California, now your kids are fat and depressed.

Two – thirds of America desperately needs to get active, exercise some self control and monitor their child’s weight. Simple as that. The Government shouldn’t have to step in as foster parents, because if the figures add up correctly, then two – thirds of the Government are ‘officially’ overweight.

When was the last time you thought about McDonalds?

KNOXVILLE BAR - ‘Another larney posi to have a dop.’

Cape Towns’ nightlife can sometimes become quite dull. We tend to end up entertaining ourselves exactly where we were the previous week, and that’s okay- we always have a vibe.
Every now and then, though, somewhere different wouldn’t be such a bad idea. There’s a lot of action out there, so why not play a little?



Knoxville Bar is a vibe, make no mistake. It's vivacious, and harbours some of Cape Town’s finest range of cougars. Sadly though, it’s not the largest place in the world. If I were to estimate, I’d say round about the same size as a large shoe closet for Posh Spice. If you’re expecting anything besides a bar you’ll also be sadly mistaken. It’s so small that even when you’re not at the bar buying your next beverage, you're in the line anyway. The music and general vibe is upbeat and funky, it’s well furnished and there are lots of good looking people to hang out with. Maybe I’m being stereotypical, but nevertheless, this is still a place that could grow on me.

The fantastic thing about Knoxville Bar is that you are actually able to hold a reasonable conversation. Not a conversation that involves one person screaming “What is your name?”, and the other replying “That’s awesome!” but a real conversation, with actual words. This in turn opens up a few pleasant avenues for Knoxville Bar, as many different events can be held there, as opposed to other ‘louder’ clubs. Bachelors’ parties, birthday celebrations, speeches, business meetings, just to name a few, and they even have a ‘lekker’ flat screen TV. to watch your favourite sports games.

What I am trying to get at here is basically if you can enjoy yourself whilst rubbing shoulders with almost everyone else in the place (usually the likes of Percy Montgomery), and are prepared to wait at least ten minutes in the line to reach the bar, then go bonkers. If not, go outside and have a breath of fresh air. And not just any air, your own air. Relish it, as this will be the last non- recycled breath of air you’ll be enjoying for the rest of the night.

At Knoxville Bar you basically get everything that you would from the likes of Forries or Peddlers, with an added bonus of the party atmosphere (even if it’s so thick you can taste it, like sweat). Let’s be honest for a second though, put yourself in any place where the music, people and drinks are ‘friendly’ and you're bound to have a good time.

LOOK I'M A TOURIST

The official tourist T- shirts being produced in the U.K. for the World Cup.



Sick..

Rooi-els- A small town with a big vibe

When one first hears the name Rooi-els, one tends to be a little reserved in judgment. At least I was. I mean, where the hell is this place? It’s not Bettys Bay or Hermanus- Its Rooi-els.
That being said I had the privilege of a ‘Rooi-els experience’ during the Easter weekend and shit, was I right, it’s nothing like Hermanus or Bettys- it’s better.

The first thing you notice upon your arrival to the relatively unknown holiday destination, is the Pub. This little ‘drinking hole’ is the part of town where all the exciting activities transpire. It was jam-packed the entire weekend. Next you will notice the copious amounts of luscious looking bush and shrub along the gravel road. These bushes might look spongy, but trust me, there are many underlying dangers. Next to catch the eye are the beautiful houses. They are all stunning, old architecture- classics. Moving along through this colourful town and you’ll find the ocean, accompanied by a golden – white beach (sounds good, doesn’t it?).

Okay, it’s no use driving all the way down to Rooi-els for the weekend if you aren’t going to take advantage of all the benefits that the gorgeous ‘dorpie’ has to offer (mentioned above). So get yourself some alcoholic beverages, some good music and get psyched. After that, take a trip to the pub and buy yourself the much vaunted ‘Painters Pallet’. This drink is not for the faint at heart and if you even think you’re not up to it, don’t kid yourself, get out of there- Speedy Gonzalez style! Following your trip to the pub, the walk home should involve, wait for it…bush- jumping! This is where you can experience the true beauty of Rooi-els. So in the words of the great Muhammad Ali “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.” You see, you’ll soon find out that those juicy looking bushes aren’t actually that soft, so make sure the alcohol and adrenalin levels are pumping before attempting this.

You now have two choices: either go home and call it a night- a sensible choice- or push on to the beach. Personally, I chose the beach option, but that’s just me. With that choice behind you, get moving to the beach. If you have portable music, make sure it’s blaring (mostly to annoy the neighbours) to create a vibe for everyone involved. Once you reach the beach, be brave and swim- or don’t. Either way, just enjoy yourself. Take a load off.

A couple of surprises that you may encounter in this beautiful town include the likes of an extrememly vibrant (when drunk), in- love German lass. It's very rare to spend time with this one as she doesn't speak much- if at all. So interact as much as possible, and remember to have several bottles of Vodka handy for fear of boredom. Always keep a look out for a brunette, narcotics- induced woman, she is scarce but once you find her, she will never want to leave your side. She may even try sneak a cosy night indoors- as opposed to the comfort of a bush.

Personally, the inner beauty about Rooi-els are the lessons learnt. Having good times with good friends is one of the most valuable experiences in life. Rooi-els has a special way of galvanising that experience, and creates memories for life.

E.T. hacked to death

Last Saturday night, Eugene Terreblanche (known as E.T.), the leader of the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) was murdered on his farm in Ventersdorp. The alleged motive for the attack was a pay dispute between him and his workers- two African 'gentlemen', aged 28 and 15 years, who hacked and bludgeoned him to death, using your average 'gardening tools', a knobkerrie and a panga.

Now I’m not the biggest political devotee (because it bores me) but when the leader of South Africa's most notorious white supremacist movement is murdered by two young blacks, I found myself turning my attention toward the news more often than usual. Of course this just happened to occur at a time when his logical racial opponent, the equally loud- mouthed ANC Youth League president, Julius Malema, is running around roaring songs to the tune of “Kill the boer”. Now this does make for an interesting topic to converse about around the dinner table.

So the police are calling for calm and emphasising that the killing was over pay, and not at all politically motivated. Well that’s great; I really don’t think the AWB give a rat’s ass though. In fact they definitely don’t. They finally have something, some piece of leverage that they can use against their nemesis. They have something huge. A sacrifice, if you will.

While we may never know the truth, one thing’s for sure, the murderers (who at the time of writing confessed the murder to the police) are pretty much exactly what Julius Malema is shooting for. Let’s be real, they have definitely heard the “Kill the boer” song. And if I’m not mistaken, Eugene Terreblanche always described himself as a “boer”. That’s more than enough fuel for the AWB to spark something unseemly.

Honestly though, who phones the police when you’ve just killed someone on a farm and no- one has seen you do it? Maybe someone who believed it was right? Perhaps someone looking for acknowledgement for their ‘accomplishment’? I mean, hacking a body up into tiny pieces. What the fuck? Something is definitely up here. For one, there seems like there is a lot of anger being expressed. If you had a dispute about pay and felt like you needed to kill because of it, surely you would kill and get done with it? Unless, possibly, you’re trying to make a statement? Trying to be a hero?

Controversial doesn’t even begin to describe the impending disaster going down here. If Malema gets snuffed out, are all fingers going to be pointed at the AWB? Surely- although I wouldn’t be that quick to pounce, as I’m sure there are many others out there baying for blood.