A SMAC in the Face #76:  Going, Going, AGOA!

By Blaine McCleland in Jokes 0 Comment

Well, the egregious grifter did it.  He won the 2024 US Presidential election by a landslide.  How he did it will have the pundits pondering and pointlessly pontificating for years.  In fact, it’s likely to become a university course – you’ll be able to study Political Science majoring in Blowing Your Own Trumpet and the Art of the Steal amongst many other fawning indigestible courses.  The question now is what is he going to do with his victory?  We know that he likes to do things on a whim but we can be sure that his presidency will be anything but whimsical. 

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Dating the Oldest Photograph of Port Elizabeth

By Blaine McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 2 Comments

Having unexpectantly and unwanted achieved old age, dating is not a pursuit that features greatly in my life. I prefer more leisurely diversions such as the subject of this blog – dating the oldest photograph (not something that I ever thought I would aspire to). I am also an armchair historian of popular topics and do not submerge myself in the dusty bowels of archives. My tools are limited to my inquisitive mind and interpretive skills and reviewing easily accessible books not to mention leaning on my older brother, Dean, for backup as younger siblings tend to do.

[Disclaimer: I must make absolutely clear that it is with no sense of superiority do I dismiss some of the dates given by Redgrave, Lorimer and Harradine. It is rather a case that I stand on the shoulders of giants, particularly in the case of the latter. Also in the days that their books were written, they did not have sophisticated word processors and the ability to print drafts at their desks or perform computer searches.]


What triggered this blog was rereading my brother’s blog (ref 1) on the earliest photograph and photographers. In it he presents an early morning photograph looking over Market Square and down Main Street, probably referred to as High Street in those days, and he states that it is the oldest photograph (below) and taken in c1858.

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A SMAC in the Face #75: Odius Maximus

By Blaine McCleland in Jokes 0 Comment

Upfront I must make a disclaimer – personally I am slightly to the left of centre if such a thing as a linear left-right continuum adequately describes one’s worldview.  In the US political system, I get where the Republicans (not the Maggots and their ilk) are coming from and understand where the Democrats are trying to get to and don’t want to really take sides in a country I’m not part of.  So, this SMAC is not about politics, but just about one man – Trump. 

Why should you or I care about it?  Like it or not, America is the dominant force in the world and perhaps it should change to something more equitable.  But what we don’t need is chaos in geopolitics and that’s just what Trump represents because Trump is not worried about what’s good or right for mankind, but what’s good for Trump.  Unfortunately, it is also well known from his previous presidency that listening to briefings from his cabinet, particularly the all-important security briefings, are not his strong suit.  In fact, the only briefings he listens to are those broadcast by Fox News – his personal vanity mirror.

This is SMAC’s look at the man as the critical US presidential election approaches.   It’s time to be afraid, very afraid. 

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A SMAC in the Face #74:  Hapoor

By Blaine McCleland in Jokes, Opinion Pieces 0 Comment

(For those who do not follow American politics closely, the symbol of the Republican party is the elephant)

The Addo Elephant National Park outside Port Elizabeth was established in 1931 and is home to 600 elephants, up from 11 when it started.  A legendary beast amongst them was Hapoor, so named because he had a chunk missing from his ear caused by a hunter’s bullet.  His name was an Afrikaans portmanteau of “hap” meaning a bite or a piece, and “oor” meaning ear.  He was a large and assertive beast who dominated his herd from 1944 to 1968. 

You can see where this analogy is going although I have to stretch a bit, I admit. 

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A SMAC in the Face #73:  Is Zuma Prepared to Bury the Hatchet?

By Blaine McCleland in Jokes 0 Comment

In the wake of the ground shaking 2024 National Elections, the ANC faces its worst existential crisis ever.  Nothing that the various Apartheid governments threw at them came anywhere close after the ANC’s electoral support slumped by 17% to 40.2%.  The ANC which saw off the IFP and smugly lorded it over everyone for 30 years is now forced to form some unpalatable coalition structure.  The architect of this is laughing boy, Zuma, himself who weaponised the shiny new MK Party.

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A SMAC in the Face #72:  Trump Cut to Size by Occam’s Razor

By Blaine McCleland in Jokes 2 Comments

History was made in America on 30 May 2024 when Trump became the first President, ex or otherwise, to be convicted of a felony.  In fact he was unanimously convicted of all 34 counts of falsifying business records in his attempt to hide from potential voters his dalliance with a porn star.  It will probably deal a huge blow to his re-election chances and make any political career for Don jnr a non-starter.  After all, who would want to vote for Con Heir, son of Con Hair?

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A SMAC in the Face #71:  What a Bunch of Puckers

By Blaine McCleland in Jokes 0 Comment

Like a badly scripted scene from a low rent remake of the Godfather, all the consiglieri and foot soldiers of the Don’s grime family this week grovelled and debased themselves.  They attended his hush money trial on Tuesday and Thursday to pay allegiance to him and to pucker up and kiss his ring …  and not the ring on his finger either.

Main picture: The head of the Trumpolino grime family, the Don snr, giving his inverse raccoon glare before proceedings.

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A SMAC in the Face #70:  Binary Logic – The Gender Agenda

By Blaine McCleland in Jokes 0 Comment

I observed the recent Eurovision song contest with a passing interest much like one would when passing a traffic accident – mildly curious and glad not to be involved in any way.  Like many modern music shows and videos, it seemed to be overly sexualised and ever since ABBA won with Waterloo in 1974 it joins a long line of immemorable Eurovisions.  Another thing that stood out for me was that there seemed to be a disproportionate number of artists identifying as non-binary which led me to dig out a SMAC which I wrote in 2022 but never got around to drawing a picture for.  In a spurt of laziness, I did however dig out an image from a MAD magazine of my boomer youth as a fig leaf for its nudity.

A MAD magazine take on Star Wars with Luke Skywalker walking into some galactic bar

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A SMAC in the Face # 69:  Election 2024 – Can You Kill a Cockroach?

By Blaine McCleland in Opinion Pieces 0 Comment

My name is Bond, Nkandla Bond (courtesy of VBS, unpaid of course), aka JZ, aka Spear of the Nation, aka Father of the Nation (23 children and counting), aka uBaba, aka Number One, aka Number One accused, aka Dead Man Walking (according to his medical parole submission).

The genital warts have returned, the rash is back. 

JZ has arisen from the foetid heap of ANC history to haunt SA again by joining the shiny new MK Party.

For SMAC’s look at the 2024 elections, the new MK Party and SA’s oldest politician, now that Gatsha Buthelezi has shuffled off into his sunset, read on

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