Wednesday 30 September 2015

C.S. Bulletproofreading for Interns Abroad

Hello world! I've officially kicked off my Bulletproofreading venture and I am hoping for the best. If you have no idea what I am talking about check out my Facebook Page, like that bad boy and then tell your friends, family and pets all about it! You can also send them my nifty pamphlet with my details.

To get in touch with me simply drop me an email at csiboto@gmail.com. To learn a bit more about my work you can visit my freelance profiles on the following websites: https://www.freelancecapetown.com/profile/609 and http://www.bizcommunity.com/Profile/CharlesSiboto.


Sunday 20 September 2015

The Journey Thus Far . . .



Journeys have been an overarching theme in my life of late, whether it’s at work or at home. Journeys are perhaps one of the overarching themes of all life. That and running a race. All my teachers in primary school loved comparing life to running a race. I digress, though. What I want to get at is that when one is on a journey it is good to stop once in a while and take stock. Just stop, catch your breath, relax and look back at the way you have come. A little break also allows you to look at the road ahead and to plan a bit. I recently joined the wonderful people over at Freelance Cape Town as a freelancer (duh!). Marius Vosloo, the guy who heads the team up, immediately made me feel welcome and at home. They recently launched their blog, called Our Voice and it serves as a platform for creative people to be heard. Marius asked me to write something about my journey as a freelancer thus far. I haven’t looked back on the way I have come in a while and this proved to be the perfect opportunity for me to pause, take stock and reflect on my journey as Charles thus far and to add my voice to theirs and see what sort of music comes of it.

Dear Reader and fellow traveller, sit down and rest your feet a while and let me tell you my story.


My name is Charles Siboto and I am a reader and lover of beautiful stories. I haunt places where I can find good stories. My love for stories has resulted in me becoming someone who works with stories, whether they are my own or stories that other people wish to tell. I mainly prefer stories that other people tell because there is nothing better for me than getting so caught up in someone else’s visions that you just cannot help but love and understand that person a bit more than you did before being moved by their story. I grew up as a reader and from early on I knew that stories are magic and that I want to be a part of that magic when I grow up. I never knew in what capacity I would help make and spread more of this magic but at least I had a general direction in which to start looking for where I can fit in.

I am not even all that picky in my love for stories. I love the stories my grandmother told me as a child and listened to Gcina Mhlope on the radio every Saturday morning on a show she had that was sponsored by Joko tea. I can’t remember the name of the show but I loved the monsters she always told of and how the children in the stories always outsmarted them. I read books, comic books, played video games, watched movies and listen to weird radio dramas. I landed up studying English Literature, Linguistics and Literary studies and I loved most of it and hated some of it. I remember one instance in my fourth year of university where I read the comic book, Final Crisis by Grant Morrison and had one of the greatest moments of my life reading a story and it shook me to my core. Final Crisis is a massive story in its complexity and when Zillo Valla (if my memory serves me well), one of the beings in charge of protecting the multiverse utters the following words it just gets me every single time I read that story: "Behold: we monitors who were faceless once . . . We all have names now, and stories. There are heroes and villains . . . secrets and lovers." Things like this unstitch me. Somewhere in that comic book Superman asks that the words, To Be Continued be carved on his tombstone because humanity’s story never comes to an end, it always carries on. I read and love J.R.R. Tolkien and he taught me that some stories can break your heart and yet still strike you with sorrow as sharp as swords, eucatastrophe he called it, the good ending that breaks your heart.


Stories lead me to where I am today. My name is Charles Siboto and I am an editor of children’s books by day at one of South Africa’s biggest publishing houses. This is a great honour and privilege for me because it was a struggle for me to get my foot in that door but like any good character in your favourite stories, I persevered and always kept ongoing. I am also a freelancer in the sense that I use the majority of my free time to blog and write about books, movies, comic books, video games, technology, lifestyle events and even a dash of politics for various online media. I also offer my services as a proofreader and editor to almost just about anyone who needs it. Interestingly enough, French engineering students turn up on my doorstep with reports for me to proofread on a regular basis. This led me to my exciting new venture, Charles Siboto Bulletproofreading for Interns Abroad. A bit of a mouthful, right? But it’s all very exciting and I hope the venture does well. I have even dabbled in doing voiceovers, officially becoming the voice of one of our book characters at work, Dogtective William.


This, dear Reader and fellow traveller, is where I find myself currently. I am juggling a publishing career and exploring many avenues as a freelancer. I am learning a lot in both spaces and I love it. I’m working with stories and helping people who tell them find ways to tell them as clearly as possible, whether it’s an author writing a book for children or a company that needs content written to succinctly share their vision. My own story remains, always, to be continued . . .

Wednesday 2 September 2015

Not so Fantastic Four

Not so Fantastic Four







I watched Fantastic Four so you don't have to. I'm a nice guy that way. Check out my review on Bizcommunity.com.

Tuesday 1 September 2015

Out and About: Winelands Chocolate Festival 2015



You really can’t go wrong with wine and it’s even more difficult to do so with chocolate. This is why a festival dedicated to these two things is a great idea. Chocolate and wine is by far a much better love story than Twilight. Almost exactly a month ago I got to be part of this love story at the 2015 Winelands Chocolate Festival at the beautiful Lourensford Wine Estate in Somerset West, which is part of the Stellenbosch Wine Route. The festival took place from 25 to 26 July. I am in love with the Cape Winelands and visiting the various wine estates is one of my favourite things to do. The Lourensford Wine Estate is one of the more beautiful wine farms and provided a lovely gathering place for lovers of chocolate from all around the country.



My lovable friend and I went on Sunday, the second and last day of the event. Though the weather looked like it was leaning more towards the miserable end of things I jumped into my friend’s trusty ol’ Corsa Lite (or the Erin-mobile, as I like to call it) and off to Somerset West we went with a song in our hearts and chocolate and wine on our minds. The weather turned out to be quite mild and lovely by the time we arrived at the venue and we were immediately taken in by the bustle of chocolate aficionados walking around and stopping at the various stands to nibble on some chocolate and chat to the masters of chocolate behind the beautiful and tasty heaps of chocolate goodness on display everywhere. I am a sucker for chocolate fountains and those bad boys were on display everywhere. You’d think my friends call me Chocolate Charlie because of the hue of my skin but, no, Sir, you’d be wrong! They call me Chocolate Charlie because I’m a sucker for chocolate fountains. Exhibitors at the festival included chocolatiers like Alexander Avery, Chocolat Frey, Gayleen’s Decadence, Honest Chocolates (who does not love chocolate that does not lie to you?), LINDT (a brand that we all know and love) and My Sugar. There were loads of other chocolatiers in the mix and everyone had a really good showing.

The food wasn’t to be scoffed at either. There was some mean grub available from the restaurant, Bistro 13 and three great food trucks. I you wanted some coffee Origin was on hand to sort you out and the Tipsy Gypsy Art Bar looked after you needs in terms of drinkables


We had a great time at the Winelands Chocolate Festival. It was just amazing soaking up the sun, drinking wine, tasting and buying a whole lot of chocolate. The venue was just spectacular and the people were all lovely. This festival definitely goes onto my annual calendar of things to do. It was also lovely to receive a free gift in the form of a digital gift voucher for Yuppiechef.com’s Indulgent Chocolate Creations course in my email box a few days after the festival.