Google+ Hangouts with BBA’s Neyll and Biguesas

On Sunday evening, Big Brother The Chase housemates Neyll and Biguesas were evicted from the BBA house. Were they upset? Did they leave their strategies a little too late? How were the feeling about their fellow housemates nominating them? Check out my Google+ Hangouts with Angola‘s Neyll and Biguesas below:

Google+ Hangout with Biguesas:

I chat to the evicted housemates every Monday between 12 and 1pm on the DStv Google+ page. Be sure to join me!

Related articles

• BBA: Pokello captured naked on shower hour (diarraeg.wordpress.com)
• The Angolans Take A Final Bow From BBA “The Chase” House As Biguesas & Neyll Get Evicted (peacebenwilliams.com)
• #BBA8 UPDATE: TheChase Eviction: Goodbye Angola (freaknaija.wordpress.com)
• #BBA8 UPDATE: TheChase Eviction: Goodbye Angola (asotechm.wordpress.com)

Google+ Hangout with BBA’s Koketso and LK4

Big Brother The Chase housemates, Koketso and LK4 were booted out of the reality contest last night. The two housemates appeared to have a blossoming romance in Africa’s most watched house, but now that the Big Brother contest is over, what’s in store for them both? I got to Hangout with them earlier to find out more. Check out this Google Hangout with Koketso:

What will Uganda’s LK4 be getting up to now? Watch this to find out:

Related articles

• BBA The Chase Update: Goodbye Uganda! LK4 Evicted Alongside Koketso (vgbbouizteam.wordpress.com)
• #BBATheChase Evictions: Lovers, Koketso and LK4 kicked out! (msmediacreationsite.wordpress.com)
• Big Brother Africa update: Koketso and LK4 sent home (diarraeg.wordpress.com)

Hanging Out with BBA’s Huddah and Denzel

Yesterday I tested out Google’s Hangout On Air. I, together with my colleagues, got to chat to the Big Brother The Chase housemates, who were evicted on Sunday evening. Check out our interview with Huddah and Denzel below:

 

 

Pics: Jameson First Shot premiere

This gallery contains 7 photos.

Spacey back in SA for Jameson First Shot premiere this weekend

On Saturday I’ll be heading through to the Jameson First Shot red carpet premiere. This is the second premiere of its kind and I reckon it’s going to be lots of fun again. Last year, the campaign gave aspiring and upcoming filmmakers the opportunity to be mentored by Hollywood A-lister Kevin Spacey, his business partner Dana Brunetti thanks to the team at Jameson. It was sound a resounding success that the decided to do it once again and this year the team has enlisted the help of another Hollywood giant, Willem Dafoe.

South African filmmaker Hanneke Schutte was chosen as the winner this year. She flew over to the US, where she made her film, SAVING NORMAN (previously PING PONG WITH MR YONG) and we’ll be getting to see that film on Saturday evening. I’ll be on the red carpet taking pics and video. So follow me on Twitter: @JasonVonBerg, on Instagram or check back here for more interviews.

It promises to be a festive evening once again and big up to the team at Jameson for getting involved in such a lekker campaign.

Bieber fever hits Cape Town

Bieber fever has hit the Mother City. In just a couple of hours teenagers, moms, dads and other Beliebers will get to see arguably the biggest star in the world performing on the continent for the first time. News24 posted this video on YouTube earlier… Bless them Beliebers. If you’re at the stadium or you’re getting ready to go, be sure to let us know what Justin Bieber’s Believe tour is like. Jozi, Sunday… that’s all!

Hanging with Nicole Fox in Lagos, Nigeria

HANNES DANZFUSS, hair & make-up: LYN KENNEDY

When I hear the name or read about Nicole Fox (or Mansour now) I think about the larger than life radio and TV personality. She rocked the early mornings on national station, 5FM for a number of years before cracking the big time in the evenings. She became a household name in the country and everyone loved her.

On a personal note she (next to only three others) is the reason why I do what I do. She studied at Rhodes University; she worked on the station I’ve always longed to work for and she became a well-known and respected entertainer in the local industry. So you must imagine how bummed I was to hear that she was moving on a few years ago, but like much in life change is a guarantee and it’s often for the best – and for Nicole it was exactly that. After getting married, the star and her hubby packed their bags and headed up to Lagos, Nigeria to begin their new chapter. Fast track almost five years later (already) and the star is still rocking it up in one of Africa’s busiest cities.

While I was up in Lagos, I got to sit down with Fox to find out more about her exciting adventure up in West Africa.

JVB: Nicole welcome to JVB Online. Let’s get straight to it, tell me about the last five years and this crazy adventure of yours:

Nicole Fox: First of all I can’t believe it’s nearly five years in May. It’s been such an adventure. It’s been totally exciting. It’s been a complete diversion in my life. I never would’ve guessed that this would’ve happened to me, but then again I did make the choice and it has been absolutely the right thing for me. It has been crazy, it’s been frustrating. I’ve so many challenges of the stupidest things. I have learned a lot and I’ve grown as a person. I’ve had a great time.

JVB: How best would you describe Lagos?

Nicole Fox: Lagos is a bustling, heaving, throbbing, crazy city. Its none stop and someone kind of described it well. It’s like an assault on your senses. It’s noisy, it’s smelly, it’s bright it’s hot it’s humid. The elements are pretty harsh, but for that reason alone it’s crazy. Totally chaos but yet it operates on its own system and once you figure that system out, man you move and you shake.

JVB:I’ve just used the term “just now”. When last did you hear that?

Nicole Fox:  (Laughs) You’re not going to believe this but I actually caught my husband saying now-now recently. “Ja, I’ll come and do it now now” and I was like what? I thought to myself I have totally converted you man.  It only took four or five years (laughs). He’s an honorary South African now.

HANNES DANZFUSS, hair & make-up: LYN KENNEDY

JVB: Tell me a little more about your current projects…

Nicole Fox: Well basically my current project first and foremost is my family. So that is what this chapter in my life is all about. I was quite clear that that is what I wanted, that was my priority to create a family. So my number one priority is my son Deen, who is now thirteen months old. He’s the light of my life, he’s just amazing and my husband and I have such a blast with him. He’s so cool, so much fun and we’re absolutely loving it.

Hear more from Fox and what she has to say about being a mom and also what she’s working on.

JVB: You head home as often as you can but there must be a few things you really miss about SA?

Nicole Fox: What do I miss most about South Africa? First and foremost it would have to be family and friends. It such a cliché answer but when you’re away from them you really miss them. Number two would have to be oh my gosh, it’s so beautiful. I miss the trees, the beautiful weather, the blue skies, the Gauteng sunset and the thundershowers. Oh I miss it so much. And then of course I have to say I miss Woolworths (laughs).

JVB: What do you miss specifically?

Nicole Fox: Everything. I miss being able to walk into a store and have quality products available like that. I really miss rusks. I cannot buy buttermilk here. A friend of mine recently decided to conduct an experiment and posted a Tupperware of homemade rusks from Cape Town. He took my address and we thought that’s it. It would never reach. Twenty days later it arrived at my door. Can you believe it?  Needless to say I scoffed all of them in its entirety in two days. Deen loves rusks (laughs).

JVB: It’s only five hours to Lagos from Johannesburg. If anyone is heading up to the city, what three could they do when they come to Lagos?

Nicole Fox: Coming to Lagos I would say that the number one thing you should do is to arrange on a Sunday a day out to the beach.  A day out at the beach is just amazing. There are untouched beaches, palm trees everywhere. It’s beautiful and an absolute must-do. So chat to your hotel, your guest services about doing that. The other for tourists to do would be a visit to Leki Market, which is a wonderfully huge market with lots of West African crafts, trinkets, beautiful textiles, beads – and it’s all negotiable. The one thing you have to learn in Lagos is to negotiate.

Click here to hear more

The other thing about Lagos is it functions very much by word of mouth. You really need to speak to people, ask them where to go because there are gems but you have to find them.  So don’t take it

Can’t get enough of Nicole Fox? Keep up to date with her by following her on Twitter: @OnlyNicoleFox.

We hope she’ll be back in the country soon, doing what she does best . We want that voice on radio again

Prepping for interviews with Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart

Tomorrow will be a good day. I’ve managed to secure some interview time with actors, Gerard Butler and Aaron Eckhart. The two are out in South Africa as part of a promotional world tour for their latest film, Olympus Has Fallen. The film releases in South Africa this coming Friday.

I got to watch the film last week and I must admit, I really enjoyed it. I thought Butler was fantastic in the film. I’ll find out just how much research and preparation went into this role tomorrow, but from what I’ve read and seen, there was a lot. I think Aaron Eckhart was perfect in the role of the President of the United States. He’s a president of and for the people and in this role, he manages to play the character perfectly. Also, the characteristic of being a father and being a president and how juggles both, how he needs to stand for what is right is portrayed perfectly in the film. The suspense will have you sitting at the edge of seat, thinking can you actually just make a decision already.

There’s lot of action, emotion and edge of seat moments in this film. I’ll bring you more from the interviews, from the premiere and fan Q&A event during the week. If you have any questions, holler. I’ve only got between five and seven minutes with them, but we’ll make it work.

The quest to rock the entertainment world continues tomorrow

Review: Justin Timberlake’s The 20/20 Experience

In November last year I felt the need to pull out my Justin Timberlake cds.  Don’t ask me why, but it had been a while since I’d listened to them. The only one I could find was the FutureSex/LoveSounds album, which isn’t a bad thing. And so, once again I became acquainted with this album and it just reminded me of why I dig him as an artist. I managed to find his first solo album, Justified a couple of days later and it feels like just yesterday that it was released. It still fantastic, and I love it just as much as the time I bought it.

Why I suddenly felt the need to listen to these albums again, I have no idea. That was until January when a little teaser clip hit the net of the star sharing his thoughts on why it has been so long since his last release, but the words that echoed through many a Timberlake fan’s ears was “I’m ready”. Perfect timing JT because so were we.

The first single hit the airwaves shortly afterwards called Suit & Tie. It features arguably the biggest name in rap, Mr. Jay-Z.  Despite being met with a lot of mixed reactions, the single still made its way into the top ten on several charts around the globe. Look it’s not my ultimate JT song, but it’s a good first offering. Plus the brother has swag for days, just check out the video to see that. With that, the news of The 20/20 Experience, his third album, was announced.

And cue the promotion for the album. JT’s big return to the music scene included a highly anticipated performance at the Grammys, the Brit Awards, a little intimate and exclusive gig in LA and of course a number of interviews on the various American talk shows circuit. One of the bigger promotional gigs he was involved in was on the hit show, SNL. JT hosted the show the Saturday before the release and let me tell you the brother is one talented man. He’s extremely versatile, funny and an all-round entertainer. In fact, reviews of his hosting duties on SNL were so favourable that there are rumours about the Oscars organising committee bidding for him to host next year’s event. Nice.

Watch Mirrors now:

Anyway, back to the music. I got my hands on the deluxe version on Tuesday and like kids don’t read their birthday/ Christmas cards, I didn’t read anything. All I wanted was the music. And so began another long and happy listening session courtesy of one of my favourite artists. The album’s first song is Pusher Love. It eases you into the album perfectly.

Credit Tom Munro, RCA Records

The long and successful Timberlake/ Timbaland relationship continues into this album and that solid fusion of musical geniuses is notable on songs like Don’t Hold the Wall (Potential single) and Tunnel Vision.

Besides Mirrors, Blue Ocean Floor, Let the groove get in and Don’t Hold the Wall, my favourite track is Strawberry Bubblegum. It’s just one of those incredible songs. Not only does it show off his impeccable vocal ability, but the musicality in this song is commendable too. Just when you think the song is done, the star switches up in a way you wouldn’t really expect. The timing is spot on, the effect is even better and I absolutely love the keyboards.

In short, Timberlake slows it down on this one. Barring Suit & Tie and Let the groove get in, there aren’t many up-tempo dance floor numbers, but you wont be disappointed with the soulful alternatives. Mirrors baby, Mirrors. This isn’t my absolute favourite from Timberlake, but that could change over the next couple of weeks. I do love the new material nonetheless and clearly I’m not the only one. The star was expected to shift around 750 000 copies in its opening week, but that expectation was shot out of the water. The number Billboard is going with at the moment is 968 000 copies, which makes this the biggest opening sales week of 2013. Nice one JT. Now if he could just open up the tickets for his tour… I’m going. The END!

Grab yourself a copy of Justin Timberlake’s The 20/20 Experience from iTunes or any good leading music store now.

Want to be apart of Our Continent?

Check this out. Yesterday, Continental Tyre SA launched its new initiative called Our Continent. With this one they’re looking for is you and your adventure from South Africa and beyond. Upload your picture via Twitpic, make sure your Twitter locations are on when you upload, caption the picture and share your story with everyone out there. Whether you’re driving a 4×4, a motorbike or you’re hopping on bicycle to ride the Argus, one thing’s a given, you’re using a tyre of some nature to get from point A to point B. So why not share you’re experience in getting there.

The one thing I love about my cellphones is the fact that they take relatively descent photos and because my game is visual, I tend to snap a lot of pictures, so you can be sure to see some of my pics on Our Continent and soon as I am back in Afriqud du Sud.

Full press release below:

Today sees the launch of Our Continent (www.ourcontinent.co.za) -  a crowdsourced initiative from Continental Tyre SA – a map of the best on and off-road destinations from around South Africa, and eventually, even the rest of Africa.

From city to Savannah, coastline to mountaintop, whatever your adventure, Continental Tyre wants you to share your journey via Twitpic and in turn share others’ journeys with you.

We take the rubber that separates us from the tar for granted but, regardless of our vehicle of choice – two wheels or four – it is the humble tyre that moves us from one destination to another.

Continental Tyre SA has also mapped out all of its South Africa stores on Our Continent, so if you are in need of a replacement or two, you will be able to find your nearest Conti Partner on your journey via your desktop or mobile device.

Post your pics via Twitter, using the hashtag #ContiOnroad or #ContiOffroad or visit the site to browse images that have already been uploaded.