TokisoM Writes

Is that too much to ask for: to have a house with two bulls running the show. There is a thinking that women should know their place (be submissive) and men are taught to run the place (bread-winners).  But times have changed. Men and women have dreams, and everybody is fighting to make their dreams a reality. Because of my energy…I’d love a man with a similar kind of drive and most importantly respect and support for my hustle. I want a man who, when I bring work home, will make me that cup of coffee he knows I live on; a man who will read my work and give me constructive criticism, a man who will not only ask how my day was for the sake of it but genuinely care to know. I want a man who understands if I’m happy making my dreams come true, he too will be happy. He must have dreams and I want to offer him the same kind of support that I’ll be getting. The older I get I see my peers pack their dreams into a suitcase, forget about them and focus on motherhood and being wive...

Image : www.tower.com “So what’s your excuse?” – nagged my inner-voice as I read Zack O’Malley Greenburg’s Empire State of Mind: How Jay-Z Went from Street Corner to Corner Office . It’s so easy to make excuses and procrastinate about dreams that are slowly gathering dust while you live every day from hour to hour without really increasing your worth or doing what you really know you should be doing.  That’s all I could think about while reading anecdote after anecdote detailing how Jay-Z went from being a teenager selling hard drugs to a wealthy business man – love him or hate him this man is successful. Greenburg is a staff writer at Forbes Magazine . His beats include business, music and sports. Jay-Z denied Greenburg a sit down for the book and therefore the author relied on  in-depth research and  interviews with people close to the hip hop mogul. He also used a lot of quotes from Jay-Z’s music.  I was a bit worried that without the...

SBF Frank Talk: Dear Steve Biko : Thank you. Thank you for dedicating your life, short as it was, to standing firm for what you believed in. Because of you, I’m proud to ...

I’m an action and thriller type of girl. I love guns, blood and a whole lot of ass-whipping. So I get irritated when a movie promises all these things but gives me scene after scene of softness. Alex Cross features the king of soft, Tyler Perry BUT this is not one of his Madea movies – he didn't write or direct this flick. I was left bored and wishing I’d waited for it to get to DVD. I’ll be fair, this was his first action role and he performed….okay.  The movie starts with a not so fit Alex Cross (Perry) huffing and puffing after a criminal, gun in hand. He is wearing a long trench coat which tells you that Cross is a top cop. He is very fatherly in how he leads his team.  He has a family; a beautiful wife, two adorable children and his mother stays with them. And his mother is played by one of those grand-mothers from his Madea movies.  Anyway, somewhere past the soppy stuff, in comes the villain played by Matthew Fox. He is my favourite...

I’m an emotional creature; my moods dictate my activities for days and nights – when I’m not being paid. Most of the time, regardless of my mood – I’d rather be on my own.  That being said, I’m working on breaking this habit and forcing myself to “go out there” even when I’d rather lie on my bed and read a book. I was in such a horrid mood when I dragged myself to go watch Moliere’s The Miser at the Market Theatre recently.  To meet my moods half way I didn't invite a friend and so I was still alone but yet with people. The play, originally written when French monarchs ruled in 1668, is relevant to our times.  The main character, Harpagon, is a wealthy loan shark whose love for money is as powerful as his stingy ways. He has two children; daughter and son who don’t understand his way. Harpagon played by Lionel Newton    Pictures by:  Ruphin Coudyzer  They know that they are wealthy and that their father ...

Word n Sound Poetry and Music Series is a perfect example of “if you have an idea – run with it”. We've seen movements come and go but Word n Sound has proved its staying power.  The three minds behind WnS, Qhakaza Mbali Mthembu, Thabiso “Afurakan” Mohare and Mduduzi "Dj Duce" Mvemve have not only done their bit to keep the poetry scene in Johannesburg alive but they've made it interesting.  One member down and a couple of venues later the festival is celebrating its second year. New faces have braved the competitive space and the fight for the number one spot has been amazing to watch.  WnS has grown since its days of an audience of less than ten and the open-mic session was a painful experience. I had a short and sweet chat with Qhakaza; the rose among thorns and also called ‘mother’ by some artists. Planning WnS Festival 2013 was … interesting because since this is our second year there were things we thought ...

I love LeratoMogoatlhe . I love her because she doesn't just dream but she lives her dreams. And I love her for not just saying she is proudly African but for stepping out of her comfort zone to experience her continent. She inspires me. Image stolen from her Facebook page :-) When was the last time you journeyed our continent intensely? It was in 2010, and I was at it for 6 months. I was in East Africa; Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania. I didn't go to my other planned destinations which were; Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti. I came back home because I ran out of steam and cash. What discouraged me the most was that when I wanted to go to Ethiopia, I could only get a visa if I flew to Nairobi. The only other ways to get the visa was if I was Kenyan, Eastern African or had a residential permit in East Africa. It’s really crushing when you want to go to a place and you are forced to take the privileged route when you don’t have the privilege. ...