• SA CONNECT
  • SA NEWS
  • SA DATING

South Africans in New York

SA News for SAPeople

  • Home
  • Interviews
  • Health
  • Fab!
  • Eish!
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Blogs
    • Cape Town
    • Durban
    • Italy
    • Johannesburg
    • L.A.
    • London
    • New York
    • World
  • New York Blog

Archives for November 2009

Rugby, Movies, Mandela and Clint Eastwood

Nov 30, 2009 by Ted Botha Leave a Comment

Damon as Pienaar

Damon as Pienaar

As far as I can count, Nelson Mandela has so far been played in the movies by Danny Glover (Mandela), Clarke Peters (Endgame), Dennis Haysbert (Goodbye Bafana), and Sidney Poitier (Mandea and de Klerk). And now comes Morgan Freeman, playing Mandela in a movie called Invictus. What does invictus mean? It sounds like a virus. Turns out it is a poem written by William Ernest Henley in the 19th century. What is Invictus about? Made by Clint Eastwood, it apparently has something to do with how the future of South Africa in 1994 was saved by Mandela and Springbok rugby captain Francois Pienaar, who is played by Matt Damon. Clint Eastwood can pretty much make whatever movie he wants, which is probably how a movie about politics, rugby and South Africa, with the strangest title this year, is finding its way to the screen. I have my doubts, but I will go see anything with Matt Damon in it. If you didn’t hear the interview he did on South African radio – which totally took him for a ride – listen to it now. This guy has a great sense of humor, and it sounds, at least from the movie’s trailer, that he has the Seffefrican accent down just right.

Filed Under: New York Blog Tagged With: clint eastwood, francois pienaar, invictus, matt damon, morgan freeman, nelson mandela

Albertus Quartus, the Hat Man

Nov 14, 2009 by Ted Botha Leave a Comment

I wrote about South African in New York Albertus Swanepoel, milliner extraordinaire and hatmaker to the stars, earlier in the blog. If you didn’t see that piece, here’s a short video that recently appeared on Daily Candy that shows what Albertus Quartus Swanepoel looks like and what he does.

Filed Under: New York Blog Tagged With: daily candy, hats, milliner, swanepoel

Your Man in Israel

Nov 11, 2009 by Ted Botha Leave a Comment

Your Correspondent on the Dead Sea

Your Correspondent on the Dead Sea

The flight from New York to Tel Aviv hardly prepared me for the place I was going to see. The entire 747 seemed to be packed with Hasidim, who prayed in throngs at the back of the plane, while their conservatively dressed women stood seriously in the aisles. Holy Land, here we come. Right? Wrong! Land at Ben Gurion Airport, and suddenly you are transported into a sybarite’s paradise. Wonderful food (check out Herbert Samuel, Messa, Orna & Ella, and Manta Ray – and that’s just the start of your cuisine itinerary), a 10-km long beachfront and esplanade full of hot bodies, many scantily dressed, quaint old suburbs with Bauhaus architecture and chic cafes near Rothschild and Montefiore, a nightlife that goes on till 4 in the morning (which is why Benedict stays open for breakfast 24/7), and the old port city of Jaffa, a place that might make you think you are in Casablanca. The hummus at Jaffa’s Abu Hassan, by the way, is arguably the best in the country, even though that argument rages  on. Go taste it (and Tel Aviv) and decide for yourself.

Jaffa, old Tel Aviv

Jaffa, old Tel Aviv

Filed Under: New York Blog Tagged With: beach, herbert samuel, hummus, jaffa, manta ray, mess, tel aviv

About Ted

Ted was born in New York and grew up in Japan, South Africa, and Washington, D.C. He has written for numerous publications, including The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal, Condé Nast Traveler, and Outside. His books include Apartheid in my Rucksack, a personal account of discovering Africa as a white African; Mongo, Adventures in Trash, where he follows the people in New York City who collect what others consider garbage; and, with Jenni Baxter, The Expat Confessions, about South Africans abroad. His latest book, a nonfiction thriller about a forensic sculptor titled The Girl with the Crooked Nose, comes out in January 2012. His novel, The Animal Lover, is on Kindle. He is a swimmer and a runner, and has done his share of triathlons as well as long-distance swims in South Africa and New York’s Hudson River.

Archives

  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • November 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • February 2011
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009

Ted’s Blog

coffee shop new york

Moer, It’s Coffee! In New York

When Die Antwoord played in New York a couple of weeks ago, Neville Ross was trying to get them to pay a visit to the coffee shop that he has opened with Nick Carnavale. … Read More...

“Chronicle,” a Movie Shot Where?

I don't know about you, but if a movie is shot in South Africa I can tell. Within five seconds of a Volvo ad screening on TV, I can detect Chapman's Peak or the Karoo or a … Read More...

Pasop, Goldman Sachs!

The New York Times today carried an op-ed piece by South African-born, Rhodes graduate Greg Smith decrying the state of his employer, Goldman Sachs. Titled "Why I am Leaving … Read More...

Farewell, Oh Bicycle!

New York City finally got my bicycle. I knew it would happen sooner or later. The warnings were there. The last time I went to the bike shop to check on which locks were best, … Read More...

Safe House

We all know that Cape Town is being used a lot for movie shoots and ad shoots, often doubling for a city in America or elsewhere. This week sees the launch of Safe House, an … Read More...

Copyright © 2023 · Metro Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in