Nonqaba said ...

Democrats have a game plan for winning the 2020 U.S. presidential election I suppose, but putting all eggs in the ‘impeach President Trump’ basket, might result in an omelete with cheese toppings, toppings for Republicans. Simply because there are constitutional voters and non constitutional  voters. Constitutional voters understand that the impeachment inquiry is based on Article 2 Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution. Non constitutional voters do not. They don’t replay what teachers taught them about this important document. They rely on what they perceive to be the American basket, which contains fruit, vegetables and eggs, translate that into American values. This is where thunder strikes and rips America into two. Values are either a call to drape the flag around the neck or a security risk which prompts some parents to bring kids inside and close the drapes in fear. Non constitutional voters regard the intent to impeach Trump as an underhanded attempt to nullify the kind

Light is lu-la  in Zulu. As light as a feather. Light house work. Some people prefer a light lunch. Clouds look light don’t they? I’ve never tested them because planes have thick windows for crazy passengers who might consider touching them. Lu-la. You say the first part like look and the second one like light. People who live in South Africa also use lu-la to mean yes, O.K., or no problem. You might stop at the gas station and ask the gas attendant to fill up the tank. ‘Ku-lu-la,’  he might respond meaning it’s easy, I’ll fill up the tank. Elections are not easy. Canada’s 2019 federal election in October is a case in point. All parties lost seats except Bloc Quebecois based in Quebec, the French-speaking province, which collected 32 seats. The NDP was decimated, and the big question is: where did its traditional voters defect to? Impeachment is not easy, but an inquiry is going on in the United States to find evidence that will impeach President Trump. Some people think i

Book Review : The Star Side of Bird Hill Author : Naomi Jackson Publisher : Penguin Books Who has the final say on a book’s cover photo, title and its font? Is it the author or publisher? I shelved possible answers to that query and bought Jackson’s novel set in Brooklyn New York and Bridgetown Barbados. It is actually a duel between the two cities personified by Hyacinth and Avril, her daughter. That is the easy part for the reader. The difficult part is why Avril committed suicide. It turns out that I’m one of the lazy readers nurtured by years of predictable books structured by genres. This is a character. This is her DNA. This is how she will react. No thinking on the reader’s part at all. Patience Nonqaba patience! I listened to myself, ploughed through and crept into Hyacinth’s mind. I enjoyed it immensely because the author gifted Hyacinth with rich green language, like all the shades of green in the Amazon forest. For example Phaedra, her grand daughter had a dre

Breaking News. A story i-nda-ba in Zulu. Stories are history, for example, how ama-Zulu got their name, how the weather is called izulu in their language isi-Zulu, how the sky is called izulu, their beer isizulu and how their kings are called Zulu eliphezulu  (the sky above). #TheLongestMarch , Fred Khumalo’s historical novel is about South Africa. It is based on what happened 120 years ago when 7000 miners marched from Johannesburg to Ladysmith. The Longest March is now another beam of South African literature because the author re-created history in October 2019, when he walked the same distance for 10 days. Indaba is the story grandmothers tell grand children about how and why they left Ireland, Scotland, Poland, Italy, France, Germany, England, Netherlands, Spain, China, Japan and other countries to settle in places they later called South Africa, Australia, New Zealand,Canada, and the United States. Slavery in the U.S. is a stand-alone story ( indaba ). Indaba  is gossi

‘Our records indicate that we have not …….’ I will let your imagination finish the sentence. Experience actually, because you have also received such love letters from banks before, unless you are Meghan Markle, who had her own serious money before she got married, and still has. That’s why she should continue to wear whatever fashion designer she fancies. Back to the bank’s love letter. The records indicate I have not paid because I don’t have it, something I told the bank when it enticed me with the card that reflects my lifestyle. I resisted the offer because I have a life, not a lifestyle.   Lifestyle is what people like Meghan Markle have. It’s a style that makes them clueless to the question ‘ How much do you have in your cheque account?’  $140.03. You know yours!!! Welcome to the club, my club with members that know their bank balance so that they are not embarrassed at the drugstore/chemist when they swipe their cards for  cough mixture or nail polish. We know our ba

Regret is sola in Zulu. It is also means suspect something or somebody. We’ll focus on regret in this post. Some examples. Ngi-yazi-sola.  I regret. U-baba uyazi-sola . Father regrets. U-Nancy Pelosi uyazi-sola nge-impeachment . Nancy Pelosi regrets the impeachment. U-President Trump akazi-soli ngalutho . President Trump doesn’t regret anything. I regret it, is an admission that is in short supply because we never do it in public or apologise to those we hurt by what we did, or did not do. Politicians skirt around the issue because their handlers advise them that admitting regret is a sign of weakness. There is a lot of regret in getting rich quickly schemes. There is regret in leaving your continent and coming to Canada, only to find yourself sleeping under the bridge and being subjected to physical and sexual abuse. There is regret in leaving this job for another only to find that it is a, from the frying pan into the fire situation. There is regret in marrying this

‘We are not  liable, period’ , said the Association of Fitness Centres. Well! Something like that, because I’m not aware of a court case where a member sued a fitness centre for a broken leg after a 10 lb dumb bell crushed it because she was holding it in one hand and taking a selfie with the other. Some people go to the gym to workout because they’ve already bought a swimsuit that is a size smaller, for their mid-November vacation in Cancun, Mexico. Others took gym membership to run away from someone at home, even if it’s for two hours. There are still people who go to the gym for legitimate exercise to keep that tummy pancake flat, for as long as possible and maintain the good old heart in great shape, so that it can pump in or pump out blood to wherever it is supposed to go. Then there is the Instagram crew. They need to update their show and tell regularly so, they go to the gym with some reconstruction on. Make-up. Not much, just a little foundation to avoid the shiny fac