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South African Crypto Traders should Gear Up for Stricter Taxes
Over the last five years, South Africa has emerged as one of the world’s most notable cryptocurrency adopters, and an estimated 13% of its internet users owning or using cryptocurrencies. With the South African Bitcoin/ZAR weekly trading volume – to name just one – currently standing close to R30million, there are various manners in which the South African Revenue Service (SARS) can track the gains made by South African taxpayers who trade cryptocurrencies. This is according to Wiehann Olivier, Partner at the Audit Division of Mazars in South Africa, who says that there are various techniques SARS could apply for the direct taxing of cryptocurrencies. “To start, the fact that cryptocurrencies were created to allow for anonymous, frictionless and trusted peer-to-peer transaction to be condu...
How Rufus King’s ‘Just What I Need’ Became Cliff’s Love Song to Torrance in Bring It On
It’s been two decades since the Rancho Carne Toros and East Compton Clovers held a cheer battle that would become a cultural touchstone for years to come. With the help of “spirit fingers” and an ensemble cheer routine to “Hey Mickey” in the end credits, Bring It On became a box-office sensation, grossing $90 million when it debuted on Aug. 22, 2000, and has since become a cult classic, with a series of five straight-to-DVD sequels and a regular stint on cable TV. In the teen comedy, Toros captain Torrance Shipman (Kirsten Dunst) takes the reins of the squad — only to find out that the team’s former captain, the bossy Big Red (Lindsay Sloane), had been stealing routines from a Black cheer squad, the East Compton Clovers, led by Isis (Gabrielle Union). After learning that the Toros’ five wi...
Old Car City U.S.A. Is Part Graveyard, Part Playground for Fans of Abandoned Classic Cars
This story originally ran in 2014 on Hot Rod. For more barn find and classic car content, check out Hot Rod Network. You’ve probably seen images from this place before. Big finned Cadillacs sinking slowly in the loam, a 1967 GTO peering out from waist-high weeds, vines curling around the mirrors and in and out of hood scoops, pre-safety glass windshields starred and fogged from decades of quiet resting in the woods. There are more than six miles of trails in and around the Georgia forest land that houses these picturesque scenes of abandonment, and the owner of it all, Dean Lewis, knows exactly how striking it is. See all 258 photos There is a sign on the fence that reads “CARS, ART, NATURE, HISTORY.” That sums up Dean’s approach to his 34-acre vintage car...
2022 Toyota Tundra: What We Know About the Next One
An All-New Toyota Tundra for 2022 The 2022 Toyota Tundra is due to ride on the company’s latest truck chassis. Reportedly coined Toyota New Global Architecture-F (or TNGA-F), the Tundra’s body-on-frame underpinnings ought to benefit from greater use of high-strength steel and other weight-saving materials. Like the Ram 1500, we anticipate the next-gen Tundra will adopt coil springs—in place of the current truck’s leaf springs—to go with its live rear axle. Such a setup will surely improve the truck’s ride quality. Likewise, we expect the lither 2022 Tundra to notably improve upon the outgoing model’s maximum 1,730-pound payload and 10,200-pound towing figures. Of course, it will have to, with more-modern light-duty competitors offering capacities that far outs...
2022 Jeep Grand Wagoneer: What We Know About the Big Luxury SUV
Is the Grand Wagoneer or the Grand Cherokee the Grander Jeep? Positioned above the Grand Cherokee in Jeep’s lineup, the mighty Grand Wagoneer will most likely trade its smaller sibling’s unibody architecture for a body-on-frame setup. With its underpinnings almost assuredly cribbed from the Ram 1500 pickup truck, the Grand Wagoneer ought to emerge with towing and hauling abilities that match what’s likely to be near-class-leading off-road prowess. See all 22 photos Unlike the Ram’s rear end, which utilizes a live axle, the Grand Wagoneer is expected to adopt an independent rear suspension setup. This should provide it with a ride quality befitting a vehicle that’s expected to crest the six-figure mark when loaded up with options. Don’t worry, the base Gr...
These Rare Hot Wheels May Be Small But They’re Worth Thousands
As enumerated in this list of the most sought-after modern Hot Wheels, hard-to-find variants from the first few years of production are some of the most valuable and cherished collectible toys in the high-end collecting sphere. The trouble is, when you try and pin down specifically what the most expensive Redlines—what connoisseurs call models from the first few years of Hot Wheels—are, you run into a mire of prototypes, one-offs, and promotional models. So, skirting around some of the more unique Redlines, here is a handful of valuable, now-expensive vintage Hot Wheels to keep an eye out for when you’re digging through your collection. 1970 Classic Nomad in Gold, $2,500+ See all 6 photos Image Courtesy of Woody Itson Like the majority of Redlines that occupy the upper echelons of th...
Duckwrth Is Ready for the World to Feel SuperGood Again
For the last seven years, L.A. rapper-songwriter Duckwrth had the album title SuperGood in the back pocket of his overalls, saved for a rainy day. One problem: Life hadn’t quite given him that super-good feeling yet. But 2020 almost did. At least in the beginning, when he hopped in the studio and recorded his entire new project in just a month. He finally felt he’d achieved his vision — that the world could mirror the joy he hoped for in his major-label debut. Well, things change. Duckwrth’s record is arriving after a pandemic has halted everything in its path and as the fight for racial justice has taken priority over album release plans. But none of that meant he had to sacrifice SuperGood. He just had to tweak his mindset a bit. “It’s like shining the light in the cave,” ...
Facelift Turns 30: Musicians Salute Alice in Chains’ Debut Album
“Dark.” That word came up the most as SPIN spoke to nine musicians about Facelift, the groundbreaking debut album from grunge gods Alice in Chains. Thirty years later, it’s the ultimate description for the album’s bleak sound, anchored by the tortured lyricism of frontman Layne Staley and guitarist Jerry Cantrell. While 1992’s Dirt is widely considered Alice in Chains’ masterpiece, 1990’s Facelift introduced the world to Staley’s hypnotic voice and the band’s ominously groovy approach. The album — released this very day, three decades ago — explored somber lyrical themes like death, drugs and censorship. And on classic songs like “Love, Hate, Love,” “Bleed the Freak,” “Sea of Sorrow” and the MTV-endorsed “Man in the Box,” they helped define the ...
Gavin Rossdale on ‘Exhilarating’ Livestream, Rising Above ‘Old Bush’ Comparisons
This should have been a huge summer for Bush. Gavin Rossdale and company were set to release their eighth studio album, The Kingdom, in May, followed by a trek across the U.S. shortly thereafter. Once the pandemic struck, things changed, but it didn’t deter Bush. Their release may have been delayed, but the band found ways to push forward, including in the early pandemic-days when Gavin Rossdale performed on Instagram, and more recently, to celebrate their album release last month. The July 18th event, which came a day after The Kingdom’s release, featured a fully produced gig via live stream, with virtual fan experiences. “It was just exhausting and exhilarating as usual to be back in those [rehearsal] studios,” Rossdale tells SPIN about preparing for the arena-style performance. And it’s...
Club Quarantäne is the Premier Online Clubbing Experience—and You’re Probably Not Getting In
With the huge blow to nightlife around the globe caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, promoters are getting creative as club-goers and music fans seek ways to fill the void left by the absence of regular music events. Enter Club Quarantäne, a fully immersive digital clubbing experience that can be enjoyed in the comfort and socially distanced safety of your own home. In just three virtual events, Club Quarantäne has already seen over 700,000 online attendees, who visited from around the globe via their web browsers of choice, enjoying DJ sets from the likes of Ben UFO, Ash Lauryn, Dax J, and more. Clulb Quarantäne boasts a 360-degree virtual dance floor and “club landscape,” complete with music, visuals, and interactive features. Users wait in a...
Women in Tech: Gciniwe Dlamini, Research Engineer at IBM
Gciniwe Dlamini is a Research Engineer at IBM Research. She is currently working on developing robust machine learning and statistical models to analyze and derive insights from real healthcare data. In conjunction with machine learning algorithms, she is using natural language processing tools to analyze medical reports in text format and digital signal processing techniques to analyze acoustic signals. ITNA’s Jenna Delport had the opportunity to chat with Dlamini about her role at IBM and what it takes to make it as a woman in this male-dominated industry. Here’s what transpired: What is your typical day as a Research Engineer like? Does that even exist for you? /* custom css */ .tdi_3_031.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_031.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } The field of AI...
Erasure on New LP The Neon, Why They’re Not Planning Virtual Concerts
Despite the uncertainty of the pandemic, Erasure’s Andy Bell and Vince Clarke are calm and assured ahead of their 18th LP. Even if fans can’t mash to “Hey Now (Think I’ve Got a Feeling”) or fist pump to “No Point in Tripping” at one of the duo’s flamboyant concerts, the band have no qualms about The Neon falling on deaf ears. Erasure started work on the album after wrapping their World Be Gone tour in 2018. Clarke, already spending every day at his home studios in Brooklyn or Maine, quickly pulled together music for Bell to begin writing lyrics. Jumping from song to song in what Bell describes as “auto-writing,” they wound up with “whatever [came] out” — an approach exemplified on the abstract “Diamond Lies.” They shifted locations multiple times, from Clarke’s base in New York to Bell’s h...
