Nonqaba said ...

Fred Khumalo author The Longest March Pic: Alet Pretorius. The Longest March  the historical novel by Fred Khumalo, a South African writer, is a possible candidate for the 2020 Nobel Prize in Literature, because to my knowledge, it is the first book where the author not only conducted the research, but re-lived the history as well. Research is varied. It can be visits: 1.   to war museums 2.   Apartheid museums 3.   Holocaust museums 4.   slave cabins in Georgia, south of the U.S. 5.   prisons 6.   library basements to extract information from newspapers that have turned yellow with age 7.   cranking up old technology like reel-to-reel 8.   or interviewing 80 year-old men and women whose parents lost their land so that the Queen of England could mine silver and gold Historical novels are based on some history percentage: 2%, 20%, 30% max, never beyond that. I suppose publishers figure that more than 30% will make the book non-fiction. https://bridgebo

Thatha  O.G. Anunoby thatha! Thatha Norman Powell thatha! Thatha Pascal Siakam thatha! Thatha Terence Davis II thatha! Take this, is thatha  in Zulu, a language spoken mainly in South Africa. You say it like tally. Anunoby, Powell, Siakam and Davis are basketball players for Toronto Raptors. Thatha (take this). Team mates are giving them the ball on the sly, so that they can do some banking: approved baskets. Whoosh! That is what I like best about the team and I’m no expert in the NBA sport, because  my umbilical cord is buried in Africa and soccer reigns in the continent. Small boys play it before they are knee high. I’m a soccer brat. There are army brats, cricket brats, rugby brats, hockey brats and basketball brats. South America also has a lot of soccer brats with Brazil being feared the world over. I’m no basketball brat but I know mind games when I see them. That is why I say, ‘thatha VanVleet thatha ’ because on the surface, the ball is supposed to go into the ba

They call a knot i-fi-ndo  in Zulu, one of the languages spoken in South Africa. You say the first part like e-mail, the second like Finland and the last like door. Permanence. This is the main characteristic of a knot. It is tied in a way that makes it difficult to undo. It’s not like a man’s tie which can be undone or a scarf around a woman’s neck. Herd boys tie goats to poles with the intention of dismantling the rope when it’s time to move on. Tying the knot, that is how the English language calls marriage but it isn’t, because there is the option of divorce or moving solo to another province or country. In South Africa, you hear stories where husbands disappear and show up after many years, because they are sick. In Ireland, some men leave home to work in England. Death in Kilburn , a short story by Maeve Binchy, is about Patrick who has four kids with Stella his English wife and seven with Maureen the wife he left behind in an Irish town. He dies in England. His brothers c

To YouTube or not to YouTube, that is the question. That’s not my wisdom. My English teacher attributed it, to William Shakespeare. The written word is limping, from too much running, trying to escape video and emojis. Writers like myself don’t want to admit it but the world is totally visual, you see me, I see you and people love video for many reasons, including: Hair: That colour suits her. I’m glad she rinsed out that yellow. Clothes:  I love those gym pants. I must get a pair. Weight:  Wow! He has lost a lot of weight. Demeanor:  She doesn’t look happy, but that is understandable. Their divorce was brutal. Perception:  His English is very good for someone born in the Third World. Race: But, he doesn’t look Japanese. What was the video all about? That is what I want to know. Few people remember because they were so enthralled by the ‘look’, which brings me back to why I’m contemplating doing a YouTube stint. It won’t be about writing because it is a non-starter, not

Banks and Hollywood. Two entities with different products. Banks deal with hard cash or delayed cash (credit). Hollywood sells make-believe. In this case, Hollywood includes Nollywood, Bollywood, Hong Kong, mainland China, Japan, Australia and EU cinema, the whole lot. Banks don’t have a say in what kind of movies hit the cineplex. That is why I don’t use my movie points, offered by one bank. As you know, points are a ploy to make us spend, spend and spend. I also did not activate the black bank card I should swipe when I buy movie tickets. I have a reason for seldom going to the movies and it is not the butter-free popcorn. It is the product that looks like chewed gum. Movies have not changed despite all the technological improvements. In fact, technology is the story in genres like action movies and Disney’s staple diet. Outside that, stories are still determined by props (swords, guns, army uniforms, diner uniforms, cars, helmets, open concept office space, and New York).

Don’t talk to strangers. Parents all over the world used to warn kids, particularly daughters, because of the way nature made them: beautiful. Unfortunately, there are sick minds that sit in bars, basement apartments or office blocks plotting how to dismember that beauty, basically hatred for women. The internet makes it easy because girls voluntarily provide information about themselves, especially bare bones photos, all in the name of love. It is warped love most of the time because the online stranger you are in love with might not live in Warsaw as he claims. He lives down the block and is watching you in your school uniform. His online photo is fuzzy so you don’t know what he looks like. It might not be his photo at all. In Omo Wobe , a Yoruba movie starring Odunlade Adekola, a woman uses her daughter’s photo for her Facebook profile. His character thinks he is in love with the daughter. NO COMMON SENSE The internet is useful in many ways. It is also a no common sense

Fan loyalty. Toronto Raptors need it like yesterday especially in these trying times of the ever-growing out patients’ ward. There’s nothing we can do about that because it comes with the turf, an occupational hazard if you may. It’s like mother lion saying hey, I must teach my kids how to kill, you take yours grocery shopping, don’t you? Sadly, some guys are in the sick bay, but baskets are still there, waiting for deposits, approved deposits. Going back to fan loyalty, I don’t know why we are called fans because we are a fickle lot, very fickle indeed. Poor Raptors, to think that they have to satisfy a whole country, with mountains of snow, and fans become cold if they constantly envy other teams. How do they score consistently, like those Milwaukee Bucks? Miami Heat is also igniting the grill. Whoosh! Whoosh! With approved deposits! What is the formula? Fans are not the only ones wondering. Nick Nurse and the coaching staff are worried obviously. It is easier said than do

Something big is - khulu  in Zulu. A good starting point for you, as a Zulu student is the family and age. l  Baba is father in English, right? Grandfather is baba-mkhulu . l  Mama is mother in English right? Grandmother is simply khulu . l  Your mother’s elder sister however, is mam’khulu. African American filmmakers like Tyler Perry like using characters called ‘big mama’ which means grandmother. In Africa however, if I say she is mam’khulu , I mean she is my mother’s elder sister. Back to - khulu . It means big, or too much. The sun is hot or I love you very much. I have to be careful with the jerk sauce from Jamaica, otherwise the food will the too hot. The U.S. President tweets a lot ( u-tweeter kakhulu ). The Middle East is very angry for Trump’s assassination of military commander Qassem Soleimani. Khu-lu . You say the first part like cook and the second part like look. Ka-khu-lu . You say the first part like Kamala Harris, the second like cook and the third p

Bob : Thanks for coming. I haven’t seen you since the new year’s eve bash. Bobette : No problem. I had nothing to do this evening. Bob : It’s a new year, so I wanted us to talk. Bobette : (scrolling down her phone) Bad reception. I can’t check my messages. Bob : This is a special restaurant. That’s why I brought you here, to catch up, talk, you know. Bobette : What’s s so special about it if I cant get online? (takes a selfie). Bob : I was hoping we could talk about this year, a twin year. Bobette : Twin year? Bob : Yeah! You know 20-20 me and you. Bobette : Waiter! Waiter : Ready to order maam? Bobette : I can’t get online. Waiter : I thought you knew maam. Bob : It’s o.k. dude let me handle this. Bobette : Handle what? Bob : You can’t get online. Bobette : That’s impossible. Can’t get online! So, you are a stand-up comedian? Bob : I kid you not. This is a no wi-fi restaurant. Look around you. Bobette : Boring folks. None of them on their phones. Bob : That’s ri