MIKESTOPFORTH

It’s a gloomy Monday following the loss of the Springboks to the Wobblies in their 2011 Rugby World Cup quarter-final. As is typical of Springbok ‘fans’, abuse is being hurled at the coach, senior players and of course the ref as we attempt to assuage our grief. I won’t speak much about the game. We [...]

[Disclaimer: Turner Broadcasting and TCM are Cerebra clients] I love film. I actually studied film for a year or so before, ahem, dropping out, but my passion for the medium remains. My favourite past time, when I have the time, is to pop past the Absolutely Fabulous DVD Nouveau store down the road and pick [...]

Soon, Nelson Mandela will die. As I write this post traditional and social media channels are rife with rumours of his ill health and deteriorating state. This day was always going to come. When he dies messages of condolence and sympathy will flood in. Wreaths will be laid, memorial services will be held and millions, [...]

Richard Mulholland is without a doubt one of the smartest people I know. Not only that, but I consider him a close personal friend and confidante. We’ve been through similar challenges, both in terms of running businesses and running lives, and I know for myself that I am deeply grateful for the role he’s played [...]

Twitter is abuzz today with retweets and jokes in response to the press release published on the ANC Youth League’s website by spokesperson Floyd Shivambu titled “Youth League concerned by creation of fake Twitter accounts in the name of Youth League President Julius Malema”. Smacking of the Metro Police department’s slamming of the now infamous [...]

It seems only fitting that my combined passions for film and the Web should lead to a movie review about The Social Network – a dramatic tale centered around the remarkable story of the birth and early days of Facebook, and in particular it’s enigmatic founder Mark Zuckerburg. Not to mention the fact that I’ve [...]

Update – Woolies DM’d me on Twitter with the following response to this post: interesting read, the decision wasn’t purely made because of our SM channels. And it wasn’t leaked to News24. thanks Yesterday Twitter and Facebook were pumping with debate around a News24 story which reported that Woolworths “(had) taken a business decision to no [...]

After a slow start to his writing and directing career, M. Night Shyamalan burst on to the Hollywood scene with his mind-bending blockbuster, The Sixth Sense. The cleverly written thriller shocked and wowed audiences around the world, resulting in veritable cult status and an enviable ranking of #128 on IMDb‘s list of the Top 250 [...]

I’ll be updating live from the CSA Awards in Sandton. Just arrived and the venue looks great, I’m seated with Vincent Hofmann, Shaun Custers and no doubt one or two other cricket geeks. Ok so my hopes of being able to live blog the event were dashed by a lack of space on the table. [...]

I recently upgraded from a much-loved Audi A4 1.8T to my all-time dream car, a Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG. It’s not that I didn’t like the Audi, on the contrary on many levels it’s an easier, more comfortable car than the C63 – it has more headroom on the driver’s side, a softer ride and in [...]

The Mother City’s very rad blogging community has rallied around the Cape Town City Ballet in it’s moment of dire need. Sue Rutherford and friends have put together a website and campaign to encourage people like you and I to give a little bit towards saving the arts in Cape Town. We are appealing to [...]

Yes, you heard me right.  I am a racist.  And I venture to suggest that you might be too, if you’re honest with yourself about it. Recent events in South Africa have, to borrow Jenny Crwys-Williams of Talk Radio 702′s phrase, “lanced a boil” filled with putrid racist muck, and the contents are spilling out [...]

I wonder if this is a South African thing, or just a South African boomer thing that is rubbing off on younger generations, but I just DON’T get why we all think we have to rush to the garage to fill up with fuel at the first sign of a petrol price increase. I mean, [...]

Last week Thursday I heard that my good friend and mentor, Barry Marshall, had drowned while paddle-skiing in the sea in his hometown of Port Elizabeth. I received the news en route to Dullstroom for a lonely weekend retreat sans Macbook, so had a lot of time to think about things before writing about how [...]

Yep, I know – plenty of noise and hype and buzz around District 9 already. I’m not hopping on the bandwagon though – I am genuinely excited about what this movie means for Johannesburg, South Africa and South African cinema (which I’m sure you’ll agree could use a kick up the butt). My 9 reasons [...]

This afternoon, away with a few friends ‘freebording‘ just outside Krugersdorp, I witnessed one of the most bizarre, frightening, freakish things no doubt I’ll ever see in my entire life. I watched a single prop (updated: Piper Cherokee) plane crash head-on into a bakkie (or pick-up for US readers). I watched it happen from about [...]

For an out-and-out music fan and musician I have attended precious few live performances. Sadly. This is partly because the artists I love most seldom venture out here and secondly, life has generally gotten in the way when the best opportunities have presented themselves. Not this year though! Having missed the last few My Coke [...]

A World Wildlife Fund initiative, Earth Hour aims to get ordinary people like you and I to take a stance against climate change by signing up on the site and switching off your lights on 28 March 2009 for 60 minutes. The lads at AtPlay.biz have done an incredible job building a social media presence, [...]

I’ve never cared much for politics. This is largely because I felt intimidated by it. When I don’t feel knowledgeable about a subject I simply steer clear of it to avoid looking lke an idiot. I could never understand politics because it never made sense to me. I think I understand now that I had [...]