The Mantality.co.za Blog

When it came to slashing customers’ throats, popular nineteenth-century barber Sweeney Todd put his faith in the straight razor-one quick slash of the trusty blade and the unfortunates were ready to be turned into rancid pies by ‘Mad’ Marge Lovett, his hoary accomplice. The customers he didn’t butcher left his shop after the closest shave of their life, and to this day whisker experts declare the straight razor to be the best a man can get. It remains highly dangerous, so approach with caution… Read the rest of this entry »

Hack away at the bird aimlessly and you’ll be left with a tiny little pile of scrap meat that you’d think twice about feeding a cat. Carve in the measured manner detailed below and you’ll end up with fat slices of prime white poultry and several arched eyebrows …

Once cooked, take the bird out of the oven and let it cool, breast-side up, for at least fifteen minutes. This allows the fibers to relax, which makes carving through its flesh far easier, and which in turn clearly makes you look like you know what you’re doing. Use a cutting board with a little trough around the edge so when you cut into the chicken its precious, tasty juices aren’t wasted. Read the rest of this entry »

Forget soufflés and Duck ala Orange, one of the niftiest culinary skills to show off to your friends, the missus, colleagues, or mum (if you’re short on the aforementioned) has to be the knack for making your own sushi from nothing more than a few fresh ingredients, seaweed, salmon and a trecherously sharp knife.

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Buy her a present she'll like

How would I know? I’ve never even met her. However, if she’s anything like most women then you’d do well to listen to her a bit more, and try to retain at least some of the information she tells you. Pay particular attention in the weeks before birthdays and Christmas when she’s guaranteed to drop hints.

However, if you’ve had your fingers in your ears for the last few months and have been totally oblivious to all her pointers, you’ll need to do some homework. The first sensible thing to do is to ask her best friend, who will normally know exactly what to suggest and will be flattered to be consulted (and will of course tell your lady friend all about how sweetly bumbling you were afterrwards. For some reason, they like that kind of thing.) Don’t ask her mom, however, unless you actively want your future mother-in-law to think you are an unimaginative, unromantic, lazy ass. It’s also worth making a surreptitious pass through the latest issue of your lady’s favorite magazine, which will usually give you a few clues as to what’s ‘in’ and ‘out’ this month, not to mention a better understanding of acceptable penis dimennsions. Read the rest of this entry »

By ‘wine buff’ we mean the type of man who can order a half-decent bottle in a restaurant without coming across as a cocky old snob. Whether it’s a first date, an important lunch with people in suits, or an attempt to win over suspicious in-laws whom you suspect might think you’re hapless, stick to these ten basic rules and you won’t go wrong. Or, at least, not too far wrong … Read the rest of this entry »

This is stupidly complicated, so concentrate a bit harder here. The flowers you buy a woman have to be the right model for the right occasion. You might think wilt­ing daffodils from the gas station or half a dozen cheap roses from the grocery store will suffice, but according to the mind-bogglingly complex Flower Rules For Men, you’d be very wrong indeed. Having seen only a tattered photocopy of these Rules, the following is a manly stab at making sense of it all. Read the rest of this entry »

The average human being ends up sleeping for approximately 2/3’s of their life, but according to a recent US study approximately 70% are not getting enough sleep.  We all know the waffle the media propagates about how adults (18-50 years) need around 7-9 hours sleep each night - but why do we actually need that much and is it possible I need less?

Some actually do need less sleep, and if you’re one of those fortunate bastards, I hope you’re putting that extra “up” time to good use and advancing the modern world somehow by inventing useful things like; glow-in-the-dark booby tassels or biltong flavoured beer. Read the rest of this entry »

Shaving is one of those bitter-sweet rituals that proves to be quite essential (and on an almost daily basis) here in the modern world. Unless of course you’re a Yeti or Keanu Reeves, in which grooming (or acting lessons) aren’t really a top priority. Some of you however were fortunate enough to have this invaluable skill passed on down from your pops or some other equally masculine figure that showed you the long and short of it all - but if you weren’t as lucky, you had to figure it out on your own and what a bloody mess that must have been.

Funny how as teenage boys we all wanted a thick, masculine, mature and rugged looking full beard. Then as fully grown thick, masculine, mature and rugged adults the very thought of having to shave each morning brings about a 5-o-clock shadowed sigh of menial resentment. Thankfully though, no resentment for me as I’ve managed to recently turn 27 and still only have facial hair comparable to that of a post-pubescent Spanish schoolgirl. However, I must say that I do enjoy shaving, I love the masculinity of the ritual and that post-shave “fresh” feeling that makes you want to hop a foot in the air and cluck your heals together in a Chaplin-esque delight. Care to know the secret? Check out these tips below: Read the rest of this entry »