BLK JKS – named ‘Africa’s best new band’ by Rolling Stone magazine – will be collaborating with the world’s biggest DJ, Tiësto, on an exclusive track which will be premiered live at Smirnoff Experience™ Mashup Street in Johannesburg on 15 May

This unique collaboration between the two musically diverse acts began just a little over a month ago. Through a process of back and forth musical swaps, headliner Tiësto and BLK JKS have been busy working away on an exclusive track, as part of the Smirnoff Experience™ Mashup Street. The track will be available to Smirnoff fans in April.

Following the success of Tiësto’s recent genre-bending collaborations with Nelly Furtado, Three 6 Mafia, Calvin Harris, Tegan & Sara as well as remixes of MUSE, Bloc Party and Editors, the outcome of his sessions with BLK JKS will surely break new musical grounds for both acts.

Tiësto says:

“The chance to collaborate with BLK JKS, the most exciting new band from South Africa, is something I might not have done were it not for not for Smirnoff asking me to be part of the Smirnoff Experience™ ‘Mashup Street’ in South Africa. The concept of mixing and remixing music genres and cultures is something that continues to inspire me. I’m really excited to share the new track we’re making and the live show with the entire world.”

BLK JKS were recently nominated for two South African Music Awards (SAMA) awards: ‘album of the year’ and ‘best alternative album’.

Adrian Petersen, marketing manager for Smirnoff comments:

“This collaboration is very special, because it celebrates everything that Smirnoff Experience™ Mashup Street is about: the fusion of South African and global music, street cultures and lifestyle themes to create experiences that are out of the ordinary. BLK JKS was our first choice as a collaboration partner for headliner Tiësto, because the band already represents a unique mash up culture through its embrace of soul and rock with an Afro undertone,”

Tickets to Smirnoff Experience™ can only be won, not bought, so visit www.smirnoffexperience.co.za to find out how to win. Tickets are limited to the 18-and-over market.

Television. So I have one now. Well, technically, it’s not mine. It’s my housemate’s. I don’t own such crap. Why? Because there’s a load of shit on. I caught the first five minutes of ‘True Blood’ the other night. It started with an emo wanker and his bleedy-eyed girlfriend riding around with their chommie in a 1979 Datsun Dipshit. Then they argued with each other till chommie leaps out the car in a teary-eyed rage and gets mauled by a Minotaur. That’s when I knew it was bed time.

Next we have Greys Anatomy. That’s also quite a special show. There’s some ginger haired freak that scares my inner child on that show. His main job is to walk around having mini-tantrums in peoples faces. He has no idea what personal space is and judging by the wrinkled noses of his co-stars, he has no idea what personal hygiene is either. The storyline was stupid. It involved some girl with no heart (waiting for her heart transplant) and some other guy that she didn’t really know loving her so much that he proposes to her. I’m assuming that he took out life insurance on her heartless ass right before the proposal (that’s the only way the plot would make any sense at all).

Finally we have my personal favourite form of hell : The Bold and the Beautiful. Why I sat through an entire episode God alone knows (and He probably won’t talk about it because it still sickens Him), but I did. So, the story went like this : some really old guy is marrying some really young girl on a beach. He tells her she’s so amazing and that her farts are vanilla scented and her inexplicable bad moods and PMS make him realise that he is indeed a wad of gayness that should die by anal rape in a Chinese prison. At this point I was distracted by his tiny piggy eyes. They were filled with Satanic lies. They proceeded to consumate their devil marriage on a bed on the beach. If I were jogging along a beach and I saw two spawns of evil boning each other on a makeshift bed, I would be quite upset. I would write a letter to the council and hopefully they’d have the bed removed.

Anyway, TV is shit.

Thanks.

Bye.

LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network with more than 60 million members globally, today announced the launch of the LinkedIn application for BlackBerry® smartphones at www.linkedin.com/blackberry and on BlackBerry App World™. This application complements LinkedIn’s other mobile offerings for the iPhone® and Palm Pre™ to give members more choices on how to use LinkedIn away from their offices and computers.

“With the addition of the application for BlackBerry to our broader suite of mobile applications, LinkedIn is available to more business people than any other professional network in the world,” said Adam Nash, vice president of search and platform products, LinkedIn. “This is an important step in our strategy to deliver business productivity tools to our members wherever their work takes them.”

Key features and functionality of LinkedIn app for BlackBerry

The new LinkedIn application features native integration with the BlackBerry – which allows professionals to use LinkedIn within their BlackBerry’s existing email, calendar and contacts applications.

Key functionality includes:

• Search: Prepare for any meeting by quickly accessing LinkedIn profiles
• Messages: Enables users to manage their LinkedIn inboxes on the go
• Network Updates: Stay connected to the professional conversation
• Connections: Make new connections away from the computer
• Invitations: Send invites to new connections to build professional networks
• Reconnections: Users receive recommendations of who they may want to add to their professional networks

“The LinkedIn application leverages the always-on capabilities of the BlackBerry platform to enable easy and timely access to information for mobile users. Deep integration between the LinkedIn app and core communications apps on the BlackBerry smartphone also allows for a very productive and intuitive user experience,” said Tyler Lessard, vice president, global alliances and developer relations, Research In Motion.

Availability of LinkedIn app for BlackBerry

The LinkedIn application for BlackBerry smartphones is free and available immediately for members to download on their BlackBerry® Tour™, BlackBerry® CurveTM and BlackBerry® BoldTM series of smartphones. The application operates on devices running BlackBerry OS 4.3 or later. Full integration of the LinkedIn application with native BlackBerry applications requires BlackBerry OS 4.6 or later.

The application is available globally in English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, and Chinese languages.

For more information on the applications visit the LinkedIn blog.

LEGO is fantastic stuff! Being involved with all sorts of Toys & Hobbies (among other things) at bidorbuy provides for a fantastic education. In the past, I have posted about tech / biology topics, but today I decided to write about LEGO. Depending on how old you are, you may not be aware of the really cool stuff out there! When I recall my days of LEGO, they were great, but none of them quite lived up to the current stuff available today.

LEGO Duplo

Remember those big blocks? LEGO Duplo is there for the young ones. I thought we should get it out the way first, but don’t push this aside. For those of you who have young children, you may want to read about how LEGO DUPLO helps early childhood development.

LEGO Bionicle

LEGO Bionicle follows the story of Mata Nui who has been busy in his quest to free his people, enslaved by the evil Makuta. On his journeys he finds an ancient fortress and a source of power so great that it could bring others back to life. This is just a little part of the kind of fantasy that can be followed online through comics, character stats and much more.

LEGO Technic

Engineers are different people… we all know that. For those of you that have an interest in taking your building to the next level, LEGO Technic is the way to go. I mean, imagine building an entire  truck with crane that weighs almost 5KG. This is definitely a step up from back in the day.

LEGO Mindstorms

This is for the big boys. Think of colour sensors, sound recognition and remote control. I’m not going to say anything about this other than that it is really really really cool! Have a look at this short video!

Have any of you tried out some of this cool LEGO? Post a comment!

Vodacom and Nedbank today announced a joint initiative to bring M-PESA, the biggest global success story in mobile money, to South Africa.

M-PESA is an innovative mobile money solution which has already seen enormous success in other African markets, as well as in Afghanistan; enabling even unbanked customers to transfer money from person to person using a cellphone. As Vodacom’s preferred banking partner in the project, Nedbank has engaged proactively with the banking regulator, ensuring that the initiative will meet all requirements set out by the South African Reserve Bank.

Shameel Joosub, Managing Director, Vodacom South Africa, said:

“Nedbank is the impessadeal financial services partner for this venture. With their proven track record of providing financial services to those who are traditionally unable to afford it and their innovative approach to banking, we know they will bring a new dimension to the project. Both Nedbank and Vodacom are confident that M-PESA is going to change the lives of “unbanked” South Africans and we are looking forward to the imminent launch of the product.”

Saks Ntombela, Managing Executive, Nedbank Retail, said:

“As a bank for all South Africans’, we are delighted to be a part of this innovative, simple money transfer product which offers easy access to funds. We are particularly excited about this offering being attractive to the previously unbanked population who are not yet part of the formal banking system. Nedbank strives to understand our customers’ needs and is committed to then ensure that what we deliver is a financial product that is easy to use. This illustrates a shared vision between Nedbank and Vodacom.”

Added Joosub,

“M-PESA has a successful track record in other markets. With the backing of Nedbank and Vodafone, as well as the power of the public’s trust in the Vodacom brand, all of the signs are there that M-PESA is going to revolutionise the way South Africans transfer, share and spend their money.”

The M-PESA service was originally created as a pilot funded jointly by Vodafone and the UK Department for International Development [DFID] Financial Deepening Challenge Fund. Since then, the service has proved immensely successful in the Kenya, Tanzania and Afghanistan markets with more than 10 million M-PESA customers. Vodafone first announced its intentions to repeat its success in South Africa at the GSMA Mobile World conference in Barcelona earlier this year.