Calling Expats

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And no, I’m not getting into the “immigrant” v “expat” debate on this.

But this is a blog of an expat (immigrant) (stop it), and it is read by expats (immigrants) (I’m warning you…) so I do get these sort of requests every now and again.

I’m sharing this:

My name is Joe Pinzone and I’m casting an international travel show about expats moving abroad. We’d love to film in South Africa and wanted to know if you could help us find expats who have moved there within the last 15 months or have been there for 3-4 years, but recently moved into a new home. The show documents their move to a new country and will place the country in fabulous light. The contributors on the show would also receive monetary compensation if they are filmed. If you’d like more information, please give me a call at 212-231-7716 or skype me at joefromnyc. You can also email me at joepinzone @ leopardusa.com. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Joe Pinzone
Casting Producer
P: 212-231-7716
Skype: Joefromnyc

I don’t have time to check everything out on this particular email, but suffice to say that it passes the basic “is this genuine?” tests. Joe does exist and he does work for a company that makes this sort of show.

Quite how he intends to place the country in a fabulous light, given the recent publicity (FIFA, Nkandla, Xenophobia!) I’m not sure, but Joe is a wizard at his job and I have no doubts that he’ll do his best. And yes, again given the recent publicity, just be careful with “monetary compensation” going between and America and South Africa. Never forget, #WeDoNotBribe, ok?

If this is you, or if it’s someone you know, why not pass it or get in touch with Joe and take things from there? After all, what have you got to lose?*

* Credibility, privacy, potentially your residence permit if it all goes wrong. 

Cut off low

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*tuts like an expensive plumber or garage mechanic*

“Well, there’s yer problem, innit?”ma_sy“See, what you’ve got ‘ere is that Sarf Atlantic ‘igh forming a ridge of raised pressure, which is cuttin’ off that low pressure area, isolatin’ it over the Cape coast, innit?

I’d say you’re buggered, squire.”

Full explanation.

For next summer…

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I’m already planning how I can get a FloWave into my back garden ready for use next summer.

“What’s A FloWave?” I hear you ask (I have an acute sense of listenage).
Here’s all you need to know:

Conceived for cutting edge academic research into wave and tidal current interactions, the FloWave Ocean Energy Research Facility is also an amazing tool for commercial developers to ensure their technologies and projects perform ‘right first time’ and are de-risked as much as practical before cutting steel or going offshore.

So why do I need one in my back garden? Because, well – look at it – JUST LOOK AT IT!

Yes, it starts slowly, but how good is that single spout (aka a “Concentric Wave Singularity”) going to look in the Cape Town sun? And how big, as well? There’s not much in that video to give a sense of scale to the FloWave, but given that the diameter of that pool is 82 feet (25 metres), that water spike must be somewhere around 15 metres in height. Imagine the freefall.

So yes, I’m going to need a new, bigger back garden (or I suppose I could just remove a bit of house?), but it’s got to be worth it. I’m off to find a tape measure and a loan company.

Longer demonstration video here, and some technical stuff here.

Fikile – u ok hon?

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Here’s a statement by our erstwhile Sports Minister, Fikile Mbalula over the weekend:

fm statement

and here’s a letter which has popped into the public domain this morning:

fifa letter

Of course, even though the $10 million payment was made to Jack Warner, it wasn’t a bribe, in the same way that that body of water at Nkandla isn’t meant for any purpose other than fighting fires.

And if it was a bribe, why would they have made that huge PR effort and the big song and dance about such a generous donation to such a worthy cause?

Nah, this totally seems legit.