For nostalgia's sake, here's an old video I found on YouTube. It's footage from 1997 of North beach and a drive down to South, set rather appropriately to "Mr Jones" by the Counting Crows and "Zombie" by the Cranberries. Amazing that 1997 was over 10 years ago...

Here's a new site called DurbanVibes.tv that offers image galleries and videos of Durban. It's not entirely clear why they do this, I imagine it's a type of online portfolio or tourism based site that will cater to visitors someday.

It's cleanly designed and has a bit of content on offer, with the promise of more to come.

Sitting on the grassy banks of Anstey's beach is a large red container with this sign clearly visible on the side.

"DANGER: Radioactive material. Do not remain in or near this area unnecessarily."

Just another reason not to hang around after your surf...

Reports of a humongous fireball engulfing Durban’s Bluff area last night have set the city alight with conspiracy stories, gossip and rumour. It seems that for each citizen there is a different theory, each more bizarre than the last. And no, it wasn’t the Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church’s annual Bongfest. That was last Tuesday.

The new logo... not winning any awards.One might argue that being petty over spelling and grammar is uncalled for, as most of us make mistakes from time to time. So why should Vasantha Angamuthu be treated any differently?

Well, Vasantha is the new editor of the city's most widely-read and arguably important magazine, Metrobeat. She's burst onto the scene by producing an incredibly sloppy column that appears on the inside sleeve of September's issue, the first edition with her in the editor's chair.

As far as "first impressions" go, this is a disaster.

Taxi owner: I want a taxi that really reflects who I am, you know, something that makes a profound comment on my character, my being. A logo that tells people 'I mean business'.

Graphics designer: Well, you're a sexy coloured guy, how about:

"Koffiebrown... I did'nt mean to turn u on"?

Taxi owner: Perfect! Begin work at once!

When tourists come to this city, many of them fall in love. Occasionally they go on to write captivating, poetic diaries of how much they absolutely adore Durban. One such person, who calls herself nosundays, has written a spellbinding account of her time here. It's a piece so deeply moving that it deserves publication in every newspaper and magazine in this city, so that locals can see just how beautiful the city can be to our visitors.

"she [Durban] tried to take care of you but there are too many people to be taken care of, too many human beings are vulnerable in her heart, too many people spit on her face to show their disappointment and only a handful of people are willing to give her a chance to be free, untrammeled and still she tries, struggles to help anyone who lives under her sky. she is beautiful, let me assure you that. she is maybe the most exquisite and ravishing city where i have been but at the same time she is the most fragile and breakable city where i have ever been."

Click for large version

We're making some changes around here, and this is the first draft of the new banner from the graphics department. So I'm going to hold off on saying what I like and dislike about it, instead let's hear it from you guys first. Is it a winner?

Art rocks, murals rock, skate parks decorated with spray are pretty damn cool. Little losers who think their cocks grow every time they scribble their name on the side of a council bin, should be gang-raped in prison.

Take this particular group of wannabe-artists who are now posting their Durban vandalism on Flickr (link). They call themselves "fto" or "somz", or some other meaningless three-letter acronym crap. They are the ones who are making the city look like the inside of their heads - dirty, empty and ultimately seriously pathetic.

Or simply "Kimi" to his friends. From lap to lap he goes, full throttle, cutting through corners and tearing up the opposition; beating his personal best time and claiming yet another podium finish.

We caught up with Kimi this weekend and he was gracious enough to answer a few questions.

We headed down to Suncoast on Sunday afternoon with the express intention of riding Durban's new "people mover". Not to actually go anywhere, but just to suss it out and get a feel for the quality of service.

It's not a bad job, and they've delivered well on the many promises made. Unfortunately, this is shrouded by the fact that the design company behind the map has made it near impossible to actually find the bus stops, and very difficult to plan routes.

From the country that brought us the propaganga of Mussolini comes an even greater outburst of misinformation: according to the official South Africa tourism site in Italy, the seas of Durban were completely frozen during the recent cold spell!

Just as Durban Scouts aims to bring readers a certain perspective on life in this city, so too does the website of Abahlali baseMjondolo (www.abahlali.org). The similarities are striking: both sites use the Drupal system to create content, they have similar layout, and both present users with dated entries and the ability to comment, much like a blog.

However, the story these two websites tell of life in Durban could not be more polarised. On Abahlali, it would be common to find an article detailing the deaths of tens of people in a raging shack fire; whereas on Durban Scouts you're more likely to find a review of the latest in local music happenings. Two tales that seem worlds apart, but are ultimately bound by a common future in this city.

“Undressing Durban” is a staggeringly important book - absolutely critical reading for all us Durbanites who hope to overcome the unique challenge of building a vibrant, culturally integrated city. It's a stark exposure, and subsequent dismissal, of all the prejudices and misconceptions that we harbour deep down in our collective psyches, as racialised members of this proud 'Rainbow Nation'.

The book is a collection of approximately fifty diverse essays and studies, written mostly by students, academics and post-graduates from the Sociology department at UKZN. It was originally conceived as an alternative guide for the delegates visiting Durban for the International Sociology Convention - “alternative” in the sense that it “Undressed” Durban to it's bare form, and presented the truth about the many different ways the city is perceived by it's various social groups. The truth that the local tourism agencys are often reluctant to talk about.

"So Durban is a ... [hesitates]... nice ... city, but not what I'd call my number one tourist destination."

So says James Hinchcliffe, the Canadian A1 Gran Prix driver who competed in this year's event on the Durban street track. In his YouTube video post, he talks about being dealt a poor hand in the race when his engine blew; as well as recounting a few stories influencing his view that Durban is a dangerous city, one that tourists would be better off avoiding.