Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Inner thinking of blood and race!

I have just seen the fascinating programme by channel 4 titled "100% english". Basically the programme tackles the preconcieved perceptions we all have about race and ethnicity. It does so by interviewing a group of rather ordinary "english" people on their perceptions on what being english is about. I must say, i whilst i wasn't particularly surprised at the replies given; i was taken aback by the outcomes of the programme.
One of the characters included was a bigoted so called english woman who runs a charity of ethnic english people. Turns out she has romany gypsy ancestry. Perhaps if she had not threatened to sue channel 4 the whole episode would have gone away!! Then there was the lady from kent who sighed with relief when she found out she didn't have any genetic references to sub-saharan Africa. How do we see ourselves? How do we see race? In retrospect, i see how easily i have fallen prey to this essentialist thinking on race and identity. I remember coming across Jeremy of Naijablog's web page and finding it difficult to reconcile his caucasian picture to his identity stamp of english/yoruba hybrid! Of course most would react that way; perhaps this explains why he is often misrepresented as racist or imperialist when he voices his views on the shortcomings of Nigerian soceity. Is his being white a hinderance to his being Nigerian? Is being Nigerian being black? Does it work the same way with Immigrants in this society; voicing their views and their rights? With reference to blogging, does it in anyway explain my preconcieved ideas of my fav blogs..ie everchange as a young black woman and eshuneutics as a distinguished older black male?
My brother is mixed race. Up until univerisity, My brother might have been black in my eyes. Why? Is his being Nigerian/yoruba contrary to our stereotypical image of a mixed race kid? In retrospect, there are two types of mixed race kids in Nigeria. There are the ason (ie yoruba word for posh) ones who assume their white identity and accentuate it by speaking in a certain way, growing their hair and associating with only a certain kind of people. Then there are the kpaki ones(more hardcore and more fun really) who could not care less about their heritage; and in most cases are more localised than "ethnically pure" people. I notice how the ason ones come across as better at eveything. Better spoken, rich, better looking, etc...is that how we as a people see the other side? Does this explain the failure in our system? Perhaps for our leaders, the west is prosperous and white, Africa is poor and black? food for thought?
I was recently engaged in a class discussion on race and ethnicity. My tutor, the African American GJ i blogged about earlier posed the question, how would you deal with it if you suddenly found out that you were not so ethnically pure? Of course all the white students all declared that they would not care less...which somehow did not ring true. How would you deal with it if you suddenly found out that you had chinese or Iranian heritage?how?

Friday, November 17, 2006

investing?

Dork that i am, i've been spending the last couple of evenings(over the last couple of weeks, fucking sigh) in the library...i am determined to get my first more than anything else; afterall the hard earned pounds my folks are churning out should not go to waste. sigh
If i am to be honest, its not really about the pounds. I am worried. I keep thinking back to an argument propsed by my dad's friend, a man we called uncle tunde. He refused to send his kids abroad to study since he believed that "they would loose time and possible contacts".
Now here i am at university, yes i'm having a nice time but apprantly nowhere near what my friends who have stayed back in Nigeria...or so i think!!!
I've reading and seeing these people in the news, already headliners and decision makers and what am i doing, investing for the fucking future????
What am i doin?

its friday but it feels like the end of the month!

Fun day today!! It's dress down day at work today and we all have to pay a pound towards children in need...oh and wear dodgy socks as well which i am not looking forward to. As i am not oyinbo, i am not going to cramp my style...for charity or not!!
Meeting up with mates later tonight and we are going to see the casino royale thing...just us boys. Will lay the verdict down when i get back. Oh and have to go to london at the end of the month, yippeee!

Saturday, November 11, 2006

If anything else, not another one!


Whatever happens we have to make sure IBB does not get back into power in Nigeria. This appeals goes out to all Nigerians everywhere and to those who love Nigeria. If you have a blog, spread the word and contribute to the possibility of a bright future ; something i believe can only be possible without people like IBB back in power. Say I if you believe this too!!!!

Nollywood wahala!!!

My Brother sent this to me by email and i thought it was hilarious!!!

24 Things we've learnt from Nollywood

1. Every problem you have is spiritual.
2. In every romance movie, someone must die.
3. It is possible to hit a person without actually touching them!
4. Anyone who gets hit by a car dies immediately.
5. Poisoned food always tastes better.
6. The best way to make money is by visiting a 'Babalawo' / joining a
cult / sleeping with rich men.
7. One of a pair of twins (identical or not) is born evil.
8. There is never an end to your suffering, except death!
9. With a pastor ... all things are possible.
10. A movie can be titled anything... such as:
*The boy is mine,
* Face me, I face you
*Two rats,
*Spanner,
*Calculator,
*Igala,
*Ijele,
*Igodo,
*Igudu
*Shigidi
11. A movie has not been made if at least one actor/actress has not-
'shelled', twisted his/her lips to speak wrong phonetics'.
12. You are in love... you want to take your girl out, the best place you
take her to is...
*Mr. Biggs/Tantalizers: where you'll most probably see an ex while
feeding each other.
*The beach: where it is imperative that you ride a donkey and carry her
playfully.
*Or the best: take her to buy some new ugly clothes.
13. An Igbo movie has been made if ...
* You visit a 'Babalawo'
* A fleet of cars is shown off at regular intervals for a total of half
of the movie time.
* Kanayo 'O' Kanayo is in the movie. Pete Udochie is also there too!
* To get rich it is mandatory you join a cult
14. Gun shots and knock-outs sound the same!
15. Sometimes the title has absolutely nothing to do with the movie and
other times, once you read the title and see the poster you know it
all!!! (Also the soundtrack gives you a headache because it just narrates
the whole story repeatedly - so much for suspense and intrigue!)
16. A love story has not been produced if it does not have one or two of
the following actresses-
* Stella Damascus
* Stephanie Okereke
* Genevieve Nnaji
* Omotola Jalade
* Rita Dominic
17. The police are extremely 'efficient' unlike their counterparts in
real life.
18. An actress can wear the same hairdo for more than a year and even in
longer flashbacks.
19. It is permissible to wear very dark shades at night!
20. When you are shot in the chest, it really doesn't matter; your head
will be bandaged! Same for your legs!
21. When advertising a movie, you really should shout because... people
are deaf?
22. When you are extremely poor, you will still be able to afford- very
good furniture, T.V., but you won't be able to send your kids to school.
23. Most especially in Yoruba movies, your gateman must be inefficient
and comical. He MUST dress like a freak, be rude to all your visitors and
never mind his business.
24. My personal favourite- the bad guy always dies or gets caught by none
other than the police- LOL!!!!

Friday, November 10, 2006

talking about young Nigeria....

I have not met Tayo Etomi personally (I don't think anyway) but i admire her. We have mutual friends for sure and her work for a better future for Nigeria deserves applause. Her group who are promoting voters rights for young people are looking in the right direction i think. I believe all should support this in anyway we can. Click here for more information!

That Lil Nigerian girl called Nnnena


So the Nigerian girl on America's Next top model is a bit of a slag, so what? I love her. Nnnena the girl i feel like "hailing" half the time. Of course, at first i was offended that such a beautiful, intelligent (bookwise it turns out) girl should go on a seedy patronising reality show like that but in the end i got hooked.
Great smile, fantastic body and the cutest Nigerian accent i have heard in a long, long time(to quote lil miss jocelyn) and definitely true to her roots. I mean the girl was even khunle(ing) for tyra. Excuse my atrocious yoruba, i mean khunle in the way yoruba Nigerian girls greet in that awfully respectful way with the slightest curtsey dip!
I hated the way the background music changed to some jungle drums and ethnic beat everytime the spotlight was on her but i suppose that's what American's can understand. On the other hand, i suppose you could appreciate the fact that the girl is trully African to the core and drums are our thing. You should have seen her dig it in that Igbo ass shaking, bent over double way they do, marvellous.
One issue i had with her was the fact that she was portrayed to be some sort of sociopath possibly suffering from some sort of mult personality dis-order. One this amiable simple girl and the other this bloodless cold predator focused on only one thing...the kill!!! Hmmm.
That said, the part me that did it most for me was the way she handled her boyfriend on the issue of her flirting with a male model. The girl is a playa!!!!!! Maybe Nnena is not a good girl after all!
That said i appreciate that the girl was trully Nigerian in every way and wish her well in her ambitions to bring medical aid to the entire African continent!

Thursday, November 09, 2006

whose presidency is it?

Just saw two things on the net that caught my attention. IBB picks up nomination form for presidency and Donald Duke has a blog here .
The audacity of the man (i mean IBB here) borders on ridiculous and even insulting. I won't rant on about his past "atrocities", but use this medium to encourage Nigerians out there to fight against this barbaric monster from wrecking more havoc on a nation so badly manhandled.
Talking about potentials, are we to actually believe that Donald writes the "Hi, I'm Donald and i am a Nigerian" thing or is it some poor youth copper posted to cross river that does the work?
Oh yeah, got the link off Naijablog's thing!

of the mundane...

I love university! Everything about it is just brilliant!! From the mundane to the spiritual. The boys mooning out the window at four am after a night on the binge(the nigerian in me doesn't let me join in, drunk or not), dating, campus side walks, park benches, faculty buildings, dodgy landlords, laptops, ipods and even course work.
I just finished my official first piece of course work for the year and i'm exhausted. 58 pages of political dross, prob 10liters of coffee, 6000words and 25 power point slides later i'm still here and i'm sure of my distinction, whoopeee!!! To make matters even better, it's reading week next week.
Thank God for music, i changed my playlist this week and heard music i'd forgotten i had.
Duran Duran- Ordinary world
Frankie goes to Hollywood- relax
Marc Almond- Tainted love
Aha- take on me
Brandy- Focus
Cesearia Evoria- Miss Perfumado
Diana Krall- Little girl blue
Jack Johnson- Upside down
India Arie- Brown Skin
The Cranberries- Pretty

It's great therapy; music. Helps with everything i think!Certainly helped with my work recently anyway....

Saturday, November 04, 2006

Applause!!

Just seen Mr Tony Bennett perform "I Left my heart in san fransisco" live on parky....the first time since the 1960's. I adore the man. I have sworn to see him live before he dies...is that unkind? The man is afterall 80 now.....listening to him duet with diana krall now. They are singing..i've got the world on a string!!It is interesting to find out that he participated in the civil rights movement for black america in its heyday!

Thursday, November 02, 2006

winter is coming!

Just got back from my first lecture for the day. It is freezing outside. Everyone is hurrying about in scarves, gloves and even coats! Sigh. I must admit, the scenery this morning was stunning, sun, blue skies and frost all at the same time!!!!! Winter is around the corner for sure now!

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

madge on the BEEB

Just watched Kirsty wark interview madge on david banda! What i can't understand at this point is why most still witch hunt this woman. Accessory or not, that boy will not die of hunger or AIDS. Malawi's situation is dire and until the baby david issue came up, most hadn't heard of malawi. Even I hadn't thought of malawi as that bad!
Regardless of the way we look at it, the positives out weigh the negetives however crass they may be. The boy will grow to adulthood, that for me is the most important thing!