3 Things that I’ll Remember about 2010

2010 has nearly seen its fast-paced arse. I honestly can’t believe the pace that this year has flown by. Only 2 days remain in this year that was filled with tons of interesting (and sometimes annoying) things. 2010 has definately had its ups and downs. In this post I’m going to try not to focus on things that were negative (like Julius Malema, the ANC Youth League, Twilight and Justin Bieber). I’m going to be positive instead. This year was jam-packed with the world’s biggest sporting event, some excellent music festivals and a few other things. I choose to remember these instead of wasting my energy on things that only make my blood boil and end up on meaningless arguments and Retweets on Twitter. So here you go, this post contains 3 things that I’ll remember about 2010.

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The 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa: I must admit that I had some slight doubts of the success of the world’s biggest sporting event being hosted in South Africa, but we pulled it off and bloody successfully. South Africa was on the world stage for 4 weeks of 2010. The tournament kicked off on the 11th of June with a match between South Africa and Mexico. The match produced one of the most memorable first goals in a FIFA World Cup tournament (in my opinion). Other memorable moments include the shocking Spanish loss against Switzerland, the “Hand of God” incident that involved Uruguay’s Suarez in the match against Ghana, the mistakes by FIFA Officials in the England vs Germany and Argentina vs Mexico matches, the excellent semi-final matches and of course the final between Spain and the Netherlands. Overall South Africa was a buzz of fan fare, pub crawling sessions with foreigners and FIFA World Cup madness for 1 month of 2010. The tournament has since been rated as the best FIFA World Cup tournament ever. I feel very privileged to live in a country that had the honor of hosting a FIFA World Cup and its definately something that I (and generations of South Africans and citizens of planet Earth) will remember in years to come.

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Record amount of Music Festival / Gigs I’ve attended: In 2010 I attended a record amount of Musical Festivals and gigs. In March 2010 I was a RAMFest 2010 Jhb (at Emmerentia Dam in Johannesburg), in May 2010 I was the STRAB music festival in Mozambique, in August 2010 I was at Oppikoppi Sexy. Crooked. Teeth near Northam, in September 2010 I was at Vredefest 2010 and Vanfokkingtasties in Hatfield Square and in October 2010 I was at Rocking the Gardens in Johannesburg and Rocking the Square & the 2010 KFC Sessions Finals in Hatfield Square, and in November 2010 I was Krazee 4 Kripples (near Hartebeespoort). Having listed all these shows I can safely say that I’m a South African music addict. During the course of the year I’ve seen the following South African artists perform: Fokofpolisiekar (twice), aKING (3 times), Die Tuindwergies (twice), Van Coke Kartel (3 times), Tidal Waves (twice), Die Heuwels Fantasties (3 times), The Narrow (3 times), Wrestlerish (3 times), Boo! (Twice), Lark, Mrs B., Juggernaught, Cat Like Thieves, The December Streets, The Black Cat Bones (twice), Southern Gypsey Queen, Albert Frost, Zebra and Giraffe (twice), Radio Kalahari Orkes, Jack Parow, Foto na Dans, Fire Through the Window, Dance you’re on Fire, Vusi Mahlasela, Isochronous, The Sick Leaves, The Jack Mantis Band, Jesse Clegg, The Dirty Skirts, Prime Circle (Twice), Red Light Stereo, Black Era, Bachus Nel, The Smoking Mojos, Colourful Counterfeit, D-Sublime and others. 2010 truly has been one of the coolest years for SA music (in my opinion) and its definately alive and well (no doubt about that). International acts I’ve seen live in 2010 include Philadelphia Grand Jury, Pendulum & Billy Talent. I will most probably be at the Tuks FM Motherle$$ New Year’s Party at the Voortrekker Monument on New Year’s Eve (where Die Antwoord, Van Coke Kartel, Haezer, Yesterday’s Pupil, Ashtray Electric and Frankie Fire will be playing). If you ask me I think that 2011 is going to be an excellent year for SA Music. South Africa is also becoming a popular destination for international artists: Faithless, Rammstein, U2, Kings of Leon, Neil Diamond and Roxette are all coming to SA in the first half of 2011. Let’s hope that 2011 will be the year that AC/DC & Rage Against the Machine also make their way to South African shores.

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The year Twitter became more than just a micro-blogging service: When I first starting using this popular service in 2009 I never thought that I’d become as addicted as I am now. Twitter is definately one of the coolest social media services around. How cool do you ask? During the course of 2010 I’ve met the following interesting people from Twitter: @wasbeer, @sparklez23, @PsychoButterfly, @LiamLynchPhoto, @bangersandnash, @NatalieRoos, @stormin_, @stevoza, @Ahwelady, @corrie206, @syll_ble, @cecilia_vdm, @hotsquid, @Arne86, @nelson_art, @battica, @nightwulfe, @RobForbesDJ, @LeandivdLaarse, @KonstantDJDevos, @djseancase, @Sarinatjie, @s4SamsonOduntan, @AlexCaige, @jacquesdpsa, @tatibble, @RuanJoker, @BaasDeBeer, @SimoneFourie7, @Alphagirl101, @sunevh, @ChristiaanKrit, @paulbothma, @marelie, @gregnietsky, @KeenyKeenz, @TarrynHarbour, @TheGautrain, @elismaroets, @lea083, @spillly, @ChrisOnderstall, @olgijean, @Lojandi, @Glitterachie and others. Twitter is definately the best online networking tool around and a great way to make new friends. Besides this it’s also the ultimate source of information, humor, opinion and chatter (all in one). Nowadays I find it easier to send someone a Twitter message. During the course of the year I’ve highlighted some Twitter users to #FollowFriday (or #FF) and lists of funny Tweets (for instance #BraaiMovies and #BraaiSongs) on this blog. I also have to send out a special thanks to my work colleagues and real life friends that interact with me on Twitter: @MaggotMouth, @traaidmark, @krugerl1, @Owkkuri, @fiefie, @liewe_heksie, @sarajbarker, @MlleManson and @JannieKotze. I will continue using this service in 2011. I can’t imagine a world without Twitter, to be honest.

2010 has truly been an excellent year for your’s truly. Besides the 3 things listed above I’ve made a lot of new friends, watched a lot of rugby matches (almost all the Bulls matches in the Super 14 and Currie Cup and the Springboks vs Australia at Loftus Versfeld and the 2010 Super 14 Semi Final at Orlando Stadium in Soweto), attended the FIFA World Cup football match between Japan and Paraguay at Loftus Versfeld, attended the first test at Supersport Park in Centurion between South Africa and India, went to a lot of braais, parties, 2 Tweetups and a wedding, had my first ride on the Gautrain, had my longest relationship ever, laughed my arse off plenty of times, visited my home town (Louis Trichardt in the Limpopo province) for the first time in 2 years, seen some of the most beautiful scenery in the country, watched Running Wolf’s Rant grow insanely popular, etc. I could probably add a crapload of things to this list (to be honest). 2010 has overall been a very positive year for me and I hope this vibe continues into 2011.

The Opinion category is regularly updated on Running Wolf’s Rant, so watch this space.