adefunke on ... adefunke!

Different Strokes for Different Folks

2008-11-10T20:01:00.000-08:00

What do you see looking at this picture?

A lot of folks ... alright, alright a lot of folks on huffingtonpost.com expressed outrage at Michelle's general appearance as she left her daughter's school after a parent-teacher meeting last friday. Seeing the First Lady-Elect (is that the right way to address her? Will January 20th come by already?!) in sweats was just wrong I mean she is supposed to be the Jackie O of our times! You could just hear the collective sigh of betrayal. For me I felt Michelle was dressed appropriately considering where she was going. If she showed up at state dinner in sweats ehen even I would be up in arms. We all know though that Michelle cleans up very very nicely. I am guessing these people were reacting to a combination of recent Michelle sightings; her appearance on election day at the polls with her family (nothing wrong with her appearance in my opinion), the dress she chose for the Grant Park rally on election night (wasn't really feeling that outfit) this whole sweats and baseball cap get-up proved to be the final straw that broke the camels back so to say. Rather than looking frumpy, Michelle looks to me like a woman who has a family and a life, kinda like an every woman. She looks like she got up early to ready her young family for the day ahead. She probably made them a hot breakfast, packed lunches, found missing socks and scarves, loaded the washer, looked through homework before running the kids to school. She then probably ran a couple of errands (she has been away from home for some time) before her scheduled parent-teacher conference. I don't see food stains on her clothes, and the SS people around her are not holding their noses (indicative of an unwashed state). My point she looks like a normal woman going about her life as a mother and wife.

I see something totally different though when I look at this picture. I see the President-Elect and his wife sending a very important message here, responsibility. This man is the President-Elect, surely he has more important things to do other than "wasting time" attending a parent teacher conference I mean isn't that "a woman's job"? Apparently not, seeing that Michelle did not climb on top of herself and get herself pregnant. He appears to be sending a strong message to the African American community, the male and female components of that community alike, a continuation of his Fathers Day speech (the one that moved Jesse Jackson to mull the possibility of a change in profession - Nutcracker!) - "You don't have an excuse to shirk your responsibilities", "Look at me" he seems to be saying, "I am the president-elect, and I am attending a parent teacher conference. Are you more important than me? Busier perhaps? If I can do it so can you!"

At this point Barack seems to have it all, dream job, cute-as-a-button kids, an intelligent, accomplished wife (who also understands the importance of dressing for your body type), good will of the entire free world, a fashionable body type (didn't he look fabulous in his custom Hart Schaffner Marx suit as he accepted the democratic presidential nomination?) While understanding the importance of investing in your family (I am the product of a similar investment by my mother), and appreciating Michelle's desire to not be involved in policy decisions in the Obama administration I would like to see her define a new meaning for the female version of having it all. I don't know exactly what it is I would like to see her do, I do know I would like to see her be ... something (!) as well as Mom-in-Chief!

Moin-Moin Recipe

2008-07-01T19:07:00.000-07:00

'Equipment' list

Blender
Plastic Bowl
Plastic Colander
Measuring Cup
Wooden Spoon
Cooking Spoon
Cooking Foil
Baking Dish

Ingredient List

1 Cup Black Eyed Beans (not the group!)
1/2 Medium Red Bell Pepper
1/3 Medium Onion
1 Habanero Pepper
3 Hard Boiled Eggs*
1 Medium Mackerel*
1 1/2 Spoons of Oil
Knorr Cubes (or your preferred seasoning cube)
Salt to taste

*You can substitute corned beef, liver, stock fish, etc

Preparation Time - 1 Hr

Cooking Time - 45mins to 1Hr

1. Boil the eggs (it takes 15 mins to hard boil eggs) and cook the fish. The fish should take like 10 - 15 mins to boil. I usually boil with chopped onions and salt. Set aside to cool.

2. Soak the beans in cold water for about 5 mins, put the kettle on to boil.

3. Put half of the soaked beans in the blender cup, cover with water. If your blender has a pulse button blend the beans on pulse 5-10 times for like 10 secs each pulse. If not you are a sharp person, figure it out.

4. Empty contents of blender cup into plastic bowl, use more water if needed to get everything in the cup into the plastic bowl.

5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for the other half of the soaked beans.
6. Place your colander in clean sink, fill bowl with beans mixture with water. Pour water through colander. Notice that the skin of the beans ends up in the colander while your 'naked' beans are in the bottom of the bowl in your hand. Repeat till all the skin is in the colander. Notice that you have some 'naked' beans in the colander. Many a house girl has chopped slaps etc for throwing away the skin in the colander without picking out the good beans. Do whatever you like though, this is your show.

7. Notice also that there are some 'clothed' beans in the bowl. Pick them out, you can manually remove the skin by rubbing the seed between you fingers. Again many a house girl ...

8. Once you have picked the beans clean, divide it into two parts, add the habanero, bell pepper and onion. Grind the beans with just enough water to avoid blowing the motor on your grinder. The thicker you grind the beans, the more likely you are to get a nice smooth paste. Set aside the beans paste in the fridge.

9. Chop eggs up into quarters, debone the fish. Turn on the oven, gas mark 350 degrees.

10. Melt your seasoning cubes in a bowl by adding a bit of the boiling water. Mix throughly with a spoon. Add the mixture to the beans paste (which you have of course retrieved from the fridge). Add the oil and mix throughly. Add salt to taste. Your mixture should not be too thick nor to watery. I usually don't need to add water to my mixture apart from what I added during the grinding process. If you think your mixture is too thick you can water or fish stock (from the mackerel you boiled earlier)

You know how when your mum would make moinmoin and none of all the egg/fish/corned beef she added would end up in that particular wrap you where served? Found a solution to that annoying issue.

11. Pour mixture into baking dish. With your fingers crumble the fish onto the mixture, covering the total surface evenly. Use your spoon to fold in the fish. Place the egg quarters in the beans mixture as well.

12. Cover the baking pan with cooking foil and place in the preheated oven.
Moin-Moin is ready when mixture is set and firm to the touch.

13. Remove moin-moin from the oven and leave to 'breath' for like 30 mins. Serve with ice cold garri, enjoy.

The price of rice ...

2008-04-29T22:43:00.000-07:00

I just got off the phone with Princess, a 'kongo' of 'aroso' rice is now N500 up 150%.

I like it!

2008-04-11T22:29:00.000-07:00

So as usual iTunes prompted me to install its latest version this evening and as usual I made to ignore the prompt (nothing against iTunes, everything against doing anything that will require a reboot of my computer; I HATE rebooting my computer). Then I noticed something, this prompt listed Safari 3.1. A Windows version of the Apple browser? (I am so last year, I know) this I have got to see. The required reboot afterwards aside, I am loving the browser so far.

It turns out ...

2008-03-05T17:35:00.000-08:00

... Moses was high on drugs! (according to an Israeli researcher) news.yahoo.com

Subliminal Learning?

2008-02-22T12:11:00.000-08:00

I woke up yesterday to the news of this New York Times article. Apparently McCain may or may not have had a romantic relationship with a lobbyist. He may or may not have written letters to the govt on behalf of the lobbyists client as a result of the alleged romantic involvement. The alleged relationship may or may not have occurred some 10 years ago while McCain was 61 and she 30. Apparently the NYT had been investigating this report for awhile and had agonized internally as to whether or not to publish the 'facts'. Eventually the fear of being out-scooped forced their hand. I found it interesting, the whole article I mean especially since the very same NYT endorsed McCain just before the New York Primaries. However, delving into the whole endorsement/expose angle is out of the scope of this post. Watching the McCain press conference from Toledo yesterday was like de ja vu; a red faced McCain denied allegations at a press conference as his stoic wife 'stood' by her man. Of course there was no escaping this 'breaking news' and at some time during they day there was a discussion about it on NPR. I listened with half an ear and heard the phrase 'The Keating Five' more than once. Hmm ... I wonder what that is I should Google that. I had hardly formed the thought when it was quickly filed under 'investigate when I have grown a 3rd arm'. My mind quickly wandered on to other things.

I am currently reading "The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else" by Hernando de Soto, and decided to update the "Currently Reading" section of my blog (No it didn't take me a year to finish "Half of a Yellow Sun", I have just been lazy, hiss!). Since I am updating why not add a "What I will be reading next" section? (Who cares?) I currently have "God is not Great" in the queue so I went to amazon to check I had the right title, right author, spelling etc. Amazon has a "others who bought this also bought this" section which I glanced at and noted that Chris had also written a book about Mother Theresa titled "The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice" which I clicked on with a straight face. I learned from the review that she had received $1.25 M in charitable donations from a certain Charles Keating in the 80's and when Keating faced embezzlement charges in the 90's had written a letter to Judge Lance Ito asking him to temper justice with mercy. (I loved the response of the LA DA, but that is also out of the scope of this post). Hmm ... I wonder if these letters are in the public domain ... let me rephrase that, I wonder if these letters are on the Internet. I quickly googled Mother Theresa and learned a little about Charles Keating. Keating (why is this name familiar?) was the CEO of some real estate firm which then bought some savings and loans company and then went bankrupt with investors losing about $285 million. Hang on, shouldn't these funds have been federally insured? Yes they should have but the depositors held securities backed by the parent company of the savings and loans not the savings and loans itself ergo 21,000 elderly depositors are royally screwed out of their life savings. Keating blamed the federal regulators for the collapse of the bank. The govt in turn looked inward and accused five senators of improperly aiding Keating. How could Mother Theresa (with a steady hand and a clear eye) write a letter asking for leniency on behalf of this man? Sigh. I guess this is why I am me and she is on the fast track to canonization. Who are these five senators anyway? Well what do you know, John McCain is one of them. Wait a minute haven't I heard the name Keating today ... OMG! Keating Five!!! Thankfully I have not grown a third arm and since I am not preparing for a Sports Illustrated photo shoot a la Mrs Clemens and the ongoing Clemens-HGH soap opera, I am not in any immediate danger of growing one.

On campaign theme songs ...

2008-02-08T15:50:00.000-08:00

If one more person sends me the link to the Will.I.Am "Yes We Can" song, I am going to go to amazon.com and buy this! The first (and only time) I listened to the song, I felt the idea to set Obama's New Hampshire(?) speech to music was a nice one. Although I found the 'We are the World' thing a bit chaotic, I felt the effort deserved an 'A' for achieving its (perceived) goal; tug at your heart strings ,(for those people equipped with working ones) make you get out and vote for Obama. I wondered if this song would be played at Obama events going forward. I am thinking so, judging from this picture ...

I have never been to an Obama event so I don't know what type of music is played. I do recall reading somewhere that he said he liked rap music. I guess this explains why he walked out to Jay-Z's "99 Problems" after winning the Iowa caucuses. I would like to suggest another song (in case anyone is reading this) That one time I saw/listened to the Will.i.am song, the "Yes We Can" punctuation used by Obama seemed so familiar, where have I heard this phrase before o ... Aha! The Pointer Sisters had a hit with "Yes We Can" on the their self titled debut album in 1973 and the lyrics are much better than those of "99 Problems" ...

Now's the time for all good men
to get together with one another.
We got to iron out our problems
and iron out our quarrels
and try to live as brothers.
And try to find a piece of land
without stepping on one another.
And do respect the women of the world.
Remember you all have mothers.
We got to make this land a better land
than the world in which we live.
And we got to help each man be a better man
with the kindness that we give.
I know we can make it.
I know darn well we can work it out.
Oh yes we can, I know we can can
Yes we can can, why can't we?
If we wanna get together we can work it out.

And we gotta take care of all the children,
the little children of the world.
'cause they're our strongest hope for the future,
the little bitty boys and girls.

We got to make this land a better land
than the world in which we live.
And we got to help each man be a better man
with the kindness that we give.
I know we can make it.
I know darn well we can work it out.
Oh yes we can, I know we can can
yes we can can, why can't we?
If we wanna, yes we can can.

P.S. Harry Connick Jr also covered this song on his 2007 album 'Oh , My Nola' his tribute to New Orleans in the wake of Katrina. I wondered why the song was on the album, after all The Pointer Sisters were not from New Orleans (Oakland California is where they hail from). I assumed it was because of the lyrics, then while researching the post (yes, yes) I found out the song was written by Allen Toussaint. A very influential figure in the New Orleans R&B scene. There you go!

2008 Endorsement

2008-02-08T15:36:00.000-08:00

I do not know when it happened, well thats a lie, I recall the exact moment. It was a Time magazine cover (I believe) it had the picture of Dukakis and Bush Snr in '88 both running for the office of the president of the United States. I took one look at Bush Snr and elected to side with the less creased, dark-haired, bushy-browed Dukakis. I will admit that I have employed this method ever since without fail except for 2004 when I rooted for Kerry. Bush Jnr in my opinion was the better looking of the pair but I couldn't stand his accent, and I felt he had made a mess of the whole Iraq situation. Plus I was still smarting from the 2000 elections. I began to worry (when launching presidential exploratory committees became all the rage last year) that my endorsement strategy might not hold up. After the dust settled, I was glad to see that a couple of good looking candidates emerged notable among them are John Edwards and Mitt Romney (who strangly evokes for me memories of Roger Ramjet). Truth be told if Edwards had emerged the Democratic nominee and Romney the Republican nominee I don't know what I would have done (there is a God!) Now that the candidates remaining in the race on the Democratic side are Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama (listed in order of last names) and on the Republican side Mike Hukabee, Ron Paul and John McCain (listed in descending order of 'fineness') I think it is safe to say that I will be endorsing the democratic candidate in 2008. A tall thin man can either be nerdy or sexy. Obama swings the pendulum in the sexy direction, with his loose limbed gait and his smokers lips which add just the right touch now if only I could determine if he was bow-legged ... For Hillary, the Republicans would have to come up to her level and even in that bumble bee-esque outfit she wore in New Hampshire(?) none of them can hold a candle to her (even if they hired Giuliani's stylist!)

Spanish, Kennedy style

2008-02-08T14:38:00.000-08:00

Ted Kennedy 'speaking' Spanish at a rally for Obama in East LA

It is interesting to note that Ted Kennedy was kicked out of Harvard in 1951 for cheating on his Spanish exam. Listening to this ... speech, I can understand why!

Grammy Nominations

2008-02-08T13:37:00.000-08:00

Interesting, I just realised that Barack Obama is up for his second grammy in the "Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Story Telling)" category for his book "The Audacity Of Hope: Thoughts On Reclaiming The American Dream". In the same category Bill Clinton is up for his third (I think) grammy for his book "Giving: How Each Of Us Can Change The World". I can't wait to read the blogs on Monday!

Grammy Nominees - Category 79 grammy.com

Happy New Year!

2008-01-02T09:50:00.000-08:00

Borrowing from the lyrics of the very popular old school song 'Odun nlo sopin' by the C.A.C Good Women Choir, "Odun a ya abo fun wa" ( the year will be fruitful for us)

What a way to start the new year, a 2 - 0 win over Westham at the Emirates.

Match Report soccernet.com

Introduction to Kenya Airways

2007-12-30T13:19:00.000-08:00

Finally, the day arrived. It was the 8th of December and at 11:20 am we were scheduled to be on a Kenya Airways flight en route Tanzania. Ore and I were really excited to be making this trip. We got up bright and early and were at the airport in good time to check in and all that good stuff. Imagine our disappointment when we learned that our flight would be delayed by 3 hrs! What the ... We shared a pot of tea as we patiently passed the time. I had a muffin which was had been microwaved and as a result fossilized as it cooled. Ore had marble cake. Finally like some 4 plus hrs later it was time to board. It was an uneventful flight thankfully, and save for a little mix-up with information regarding our connecting flight from Nairobi to Tanzania we arrived Tanzania a little past midnight local time. As we drove to the hotel I couldn't help but notice how familiar everything seemed even at 1 am in the morning and if not that we were driving on the 'wrong' side of the road, I could have been driving through Ikeja. We were barely asleep before we had to get up to catch the ferry to Zanzibar. Its a beautiful island, we had loads of fun, I will blog about that later. All of a sudden it was Friday morning and it was time to leave! :-( This time we assumed since we would be catching the first flight out of Tanzania all would be well, boy weren't we wrong. The flight was short (about an hour) and we got to see Mount Kilimanjaro which was nice. We arrived Nairobi on time and quickly got in line for our departing gate only to overhear some folks lamenting in Yoruba, the flight had been delayed! WTF?! Damn those Dubai passengers! I couldn't understand though why our trip had to be affected by the Dubai passengers, the last time I checked I had a ticket for a seat on an airplane, not on a Molue bus ... maybe herein lies the real problem. As an old school mate (whom I bumped into while passing the time) said this is Africa, nothing works as you would expect it. I had never traveled by air in Africa and my friend was quick to assure me this was the norm. Flights arriving and departing according to schedule now that was the exception. Sad. We arrived without incident, thankfully. I did get to witness a fellow passenger finagle whisky from the flight attendant with the help of a fellow Indian traveler, Nigerians!

Everton 1 - 4 Arsenal (and other gist)

2007-12-30T10:44:00.000-08:00

Its been awhile, a lot has happened since we lost that game to Sevilla. We drew our game in hand against Newcastle, and hot on the heels of that lost to Middlesbrough. We did beat Chelsea against all odds which was nice. We drew against Portsmouth last week and relinquished leadership of the Premiership to ManU. Needless to say December has not really been our month but somehow the gods of soccer have been on our side, we head into the new year back at the top of the tables, 2 points ahead of ManU.

Da Silva Eduardo (47)
Da Silva Eduardo (58)
Emmanuel Adebayor (78)
Tomas Rosicky (90)

It was quite the strange win. Everton went ahead in 19 min from a corner which seems like Bendtner cleared right onto Yakubu's head or Cahill's boots. Our play was quite frustrating in the first half, our passes fell short and it seemed like the players were unaware of each other. I found myself breathing a sigh of relief when it was half time.

I don't now what happened in the dressing room at half time but the boys came out and in the 47th minute a Eduardo controlled a long ball (!) from Clichy, turned and slotted the ball in past Tim Howard. We were level. He scored the exact same goal again in the 58th minute and we went ahead. Just as I was wondering why Arsene hadn't made any changes (we were well past the 70th minute mark), Bendtner got a second yellow card and got sent off. Oh no! It was all the more sad because apparently Adebayor was waiting on th sidelines to come on for him! Bummer. He came on for Eduardo instead and 4 mins later a 'comedy of errors' occured. A goal kick from Almunia landed in the Everton half, Yobo for some strange reason decides to let Howard deal with it, Adebayor kicks the ball at Howard who fails to catch it, the rebound drops for Adebayor who has left the keeper behind and he scoes our 3rd goal. So much for my fears that being one man down might cost us the match. In the 84th minute Arteta was awarded a red card for his well placed elbow in Fabregas' face. Unfortunately the Oscar went to someone else but Fabregas deserved the nomination, for a second there I thought his eye had popped out or something. He did get booked for an unrelated infarction and was quickly replaced by Rosicky who scored our 4th in injury time. With ManU's suprising loss to West Ham (Imagine, they were a goal up, a missed penalty, and an eventual 1 - 2 loss) we once again moved to the top of the tables. We will be meeting a decidedly chuffed West Ham on New Years day.

My Chistmas Present

2007-12-30T10:23:00.000-08:00

Aren't they cute, my toe warmers? I opened my door late yesterday afternoon to find two packages; one from adorama.com (yipee my memory cards have arrived) the other gaily wrapped and soft. Who could it be from, no stamps so its from someone within my building ... You guessed it, its from my neighbor of the Valentines Day chocolates fame. Did I mention that he also gave me chocolates at Easter? Yup he did, they are still on my refrigerator, I keep forgetting to throw them out. Anyways I tried them on (wearing socks with individual toes takes some getting used to) and I fell in love. For a person like me whose extremities are always freezing I couldn't have received a more thoughtful gift, thanks Bruce.

No Country for Old Men

2007-12-28T21:47:00.000-08:00

Upon careful examination of my apartment, I have been able to convince myself that Anton Chigurh is not lying in wait for me with a cattle gun. Now why I would think anybody would be waiting on my behind to dispatch me to the great beyond I don't know. I blame the Coen Brothers, my over-active imagination and Javier Bardem. Gosh wasn't he just the model psychopathic killer, all action no talk. And that haircut, and his face ... Tommy Lee Jones was great in the role of the last in a long line of small time sheriffs, confronted with the fact that times are a-changing. Josh Brolin was also quite convincing in his role, giving 'finders keepers' a whole new meaning. I found the Sheriff's deputy to be great eye candy, if a little too slim. The scene between him and Tommy Lee in the diner with Tommy Lee reading the paper was just too funny. I must say the golden globe nod for screenplay is very much deserved, the dialogue in the movie was truly amazing. Overall a really good film, I was immersed in it from the minute it started till the cameras cut to black 2hrs and 2 mins after despite all attempts by the guy sitting like 5 seats away from me with his non-stop commentary to spoil the movie, gosh how I wished I had a cattle gun ...

Deamgirls

2007-12-23T14:03:00.000-08:00

I woke up starving and craving pancakes. 3 eggs, 1 hash brown, 4 rasher of bacon, 2 cups of very sweet green tea and 2 orange crepes later, I am sitting on my couch as helpless as a beached whale, captive audience for 'Dreamgirls' on HBO. It was an okay movie. I did see 'Hello Dolly' just last night so that might be clouding my judgment. A word of advice to Jennifer Hudson, move to New York and find a vehicle on or off Broadway, the Oscar and the Golden Globe would only keep doors open for so long.

Sevilla 3 - 1 Arsenal

2007-11-27T14:39:00.000-08:00

Da Silva Eduardo (11)

Whats in the water? First Fergie, now Wenger gets sent off! One can only pray that whatever it is stays across the pond! Quite the lack-luster performance from Arsenal who seem set to finish second behind Sevilla in group H. The interesting thing is when the group draws were initially held, I was of the opinion that the only team to worry about would be Sevilla in this case I can hate to be right. On the bright side though, we are theoretically through to the next stages and I am thinking seeding doesn't matter going into the draws for the next round.

So it has happened, we have finally suffered a defeat. Better here than in the Premiership though, I tell you. I expect every newspaper, radio program, tv program and sports website to make a song and dance about the loss, I hope the lads find a way to blot out the impending brouhaha and just concentrate on the task at hand, with 7 premiership games in December, notable among which is the away game to Chelsea on the 16th a CL and Carling cup engagement each, we need to be focused and ensure this performance does not mark the beginning of the end (I shudder as I type that, picture me snapping my finger over my head 3 times).

Next up we face Aston Villa away on Saturday, and our game in hand comes up on Wednesday the 5th against Newcastle.

Match Report soccernet.com

Correction: We are home to Chelsea on the 16th. Thanks anon.

Haba!

2007-11-24T10:44:00.001-08:00

Animal Planet get your facts right, Porcupine are found in Africa, and the meat (aka bush meat in Nigeria) is very tasty especially when smoked.

American Gangster

2007-11-24T09:06:00.000-08:00

I saw American Gangster yesterday, first I hardly noticed the length of the movie (157 min) second just as with Alonze in Training Day I was in love with Frank Lucas (the character) by the time the end credits rolled. I can love Denzels bow legs ehn, so this movie was a treat for me; enough full shots of him walking with his posse down 116th street, escorting his mother to church, walking down the aisle on his wedding day, entering/exiting his club with his wife, just generally looking dapper. As I watched the movie, I could not help but notice a marked resemblance between Frank Lucas of New York in the late 60's early 70's and Stringer Bell of Maryland in the early 2000. It was a nice movie with a lot of lessons to be learned; never let the enemy/opposition see you coming, generosity practically guarantees loyalty, never mix business with pleasure that is a sure recipe for disaster.

I didn't pay much attention to the soundtrack (which has sold 556,400 copies in 2 weeks of which 250,000 was reportedly bought by def jam) I googled the real Frank Lucas and I can see why Jay-Z was suffering under the illusion that he should play him, the resemblance is quite striking. I have never seen Jay-Z act, but I doubt he could have done a better job than Denzel, no bias.

I am not there and my very first traffic ticket.

2007-11-19T15:31:00.000-08:00

A couple of months ago a friend sent this link to me. It was a scene from a yet to be released Bob Dylan biopic. I am not the biggest fan of Dylan's, I know he is quite the American icon and prior to him beating Sting to win the Oscar for best original song ('Things Have Changed' from Wonder Boys) in 2000 I had no opinions about him (after that win I hated him just a little bit). The first thing that caught my attention was the fact that the actor playing Dylan in the scene I saw was Cate Blanchett. Huh!? I must say she bore a striking resemblance to him and had I not been told before hand would have mistaken her for some male actor. I filed the clip away under 'interesting, try to see this when it opens' and promptly forgot about it. I recently discovered NPR and I am totally hooked. Wednesday last week Todd Haynes was on 'Fresh Air' talking about the movie and I learned not 1 but 6 different actors played Dylan representing 7 phases in his life. A quick call to my dear friend confirmed that she had received an invite to a screening for the movie in the upcoming weekend but she was unsure if she would be able to go see it. My fingers are crossed. Saturday rolls along and she rings me, yes she was available after all for the screening. Goody! I nearly missed seeing the movie, I lay down for a 30 min nap and woke up an hr and 45 mins before the screening was to begin, unwashed and an hr to an hr and a half away (depending on how LA traffic was faring). I made it on time though and found street parking (25 cents per hr). Halls on hand to help soothe my throat and reduce my coughing I settled down to enjoy the movie. It opened with mugshots (if you will) of the different Dylans, OMG! Christain Bale!!! I can love Christian Bale ehn ... please go see American Psycho if you haven't. I didn't know 2hrs 15 mins could fly by so quickly, I was hardly aware of the time, so intense were the performances of the actors, so complex the subject matter.

I was very impressed with Marcus Carl Franklin's performance, ( I am told he was really good in 'Lakawanna Blues', I must see that) he played a young Dylan named Woodie Guthrie (Woodie Guthrie was a huge inspiration for Dylan in his earlier years) who seemed keen, desperate even to escape who he was, indeed he was always on the move, on the run if you will. Having an african-american play Dylan set in a time when everyone understood the need to 'pass' was genius in my opinion. Christian Bale played both the activist and born-again Dylan with Julianne Moore playing Joan Baez (I think). The activist Dylan came across as heavily burdened, the born-again Dylan simple and free. Cate Blanchett played the Electric Dylan very convincingly (recall it was her performance that brought me here in the first place). Her physical embodiment of Dylan was so on point, it was quite eerie watching this thin ... thing with the thin face and mass of curly hair. I think it was quite clever to introduce a hint of androgyny to the electric Dylan, lord knows a lot of his fans didn't know exactly what to make of him 'going electric' and all. Michelle Williams played Coco Rivington (who I am thinking is Edie Sedgwick whom he dated in the period). Heath Ledger played the rock star Dylan endlessly touring and womanizing with Charlotte Gainsbourg playing his wife. Richard Gere played a Billy the Kid-esque Dylan with Bruce Greenwood once again playing 'the establishment' ( He played that role beautifully as the reporter interviewing the electric Dylan).

There was a Q&A session after the screening and Todd Haynes was on hand to answer questions. Apparently Marcus Carl franklin was the only actor do do his own singing (and apparently his own guitar playing as well), not bad. When asked Haynes did not know if Dylan had seen the movie although he did know he (Dylan) had a copy of it on dvd with him on tour. As a story teller himself, I am thinking Todd need not worry, Dylan would give it the thumbs up.

Warm from the glow of a Saturday evening well spent, I ambled over to my car with my friends to find - shock, horror, parking ticket! Apparently parking on that particular side street requires a residential permit after 6 pm :-( bloody wankers! On the other hand I really must learn to read those signs ...

Cookery Lesson of yesteryear

2007-11-16T21:27:00.000-08:00

I just got off the phone with an old friend. In the middle of catching up (he had recently totaled his car and walked away unscathed with his daughter who has learned a valuable lesson; speed can be fun and also very costly) he was like ' ah, I need to thank you, you might not remember, its been a while' I am racking my brain wondering what it was exactly I did seeing that I hadn't seen this friend in like 5 yrs 'ehen, wetin be dat?' I asked 'I just finished cooking chicken stew' I started laughing. Apparently many (many) years ago I taught him to cook stew and he has not wanted for a home cooked meal every since. Please find 'attached' photographic evidence as received via text.

Senate admits awarding N500m broadcast contract

2007-11-15T11:00:00.000-08:00

I am little confused, did the Senate really need to pay media outlets to cover the senate confirmation hearings? What is the work of the NTA? I can understand that it will not make sense financially for a private media outlet to devote hours broadcasting the hearings for free, the hope of another 'please sing the national anthem' moment isn't really worth that much. As the propaganda machine for the FG I would have thought broadcasting the hearings would fall perfectly with the purview of the NTA. Perhaps this is the exact reason why private media had to be used, to let the public know that no 'magomago' was involved. I am sure there is a more cost effective way to have gotten the job done though, even after factoring in the 'ghana must go' bags.

Senate admits awarding N500m broadcast contract punchng.com

Wonderful!

2007-11-14T17:50:00.001-08:00

You have got to love America!

I just heard this on NPR. Carpenters in Chicago are protesting the use of non union labor by a local bank for its renovations. I am guessing in order not to miss out on business (union carpenters earn $24/hr), they hired homeless people at $8/hr to picket for them! One of the homeless people who was interviewed stated that he needed more money. For a split second I was wondering does he need more money as per his picketing gig or he needs more money is the reason he hooked up with the picketing gig in the first place ... I am thinking the latter is the case.

Home Stretch

2007-11-14T12:02:00.000-08:00

I have been committed to shedding the weight I gained while job hunting last year in Dallas. I joined a gym and tried to eat sensibly. I will not lie, I fell of the wagon a lot more times than I might like to admit, at the very worst time I was living off pizza and Chinese take out and went to the gym once a week only because I had paid for the training sessions. One day in June I was like enough is enough, how hard can it be to get in shape? Am I going to go the whole of my life not liking the way my clothes fit, wishing I was a little lighter? Come on girl you can do this. So I said bye bye to fried rice and embraced brown rice and steamed veggies. I stopped eating at the deli (not seeing Raphael was a price I had to pay) and became a regular at SubWay. I stopped eating pizza for dinner and embraced the salad with renewed gusto. I also picked up the pace at the gym. At this time I weighed 169 lbs (76.65kg). By the end of August I had lost about 10 lbs (4.5kg). I was consistent with my gym schedule (cardio 45 mins a day, 4 days a week, strength training 45 mins a week) and was eating properly, watching my portions, staying away from processed foods, drinking lots of water etc.

For the next month I think I lost just a pound, and frustration began to set in I was this close to saying sod it. I was chatting with a friend and whining as usual about my weight and my being stuck at 156 lbs forever (God bless him the darling) when he suggested I keep a log of what I was eating, perhaps I wasn't creating the calorie deficit I needed to actually lose weight, perhaps my current schedule was just maintaining my current physical state? Hmm ... that made sense. So I created an excel file and proceeded to document everything (edible) that passed through my lips. On the 4th of October, I created a profile on calorie-count.com. I weighed 156 lbs and based on my age, height, body type, daily activity level and my goal weight (which the website calculated to be 139 lbs based on what I don't know) I was advised to consume no more than 1800 Cals and no less than 1200 Cals a day. I had previously calculated my BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) to be about 1490 Cals so I decided to peg my caloric intake at 1500 Cals a day. The very first day I started my food log, I consumed 1690 Cals and that was only because I was extra conscious of what I was consuming. Aha! So I have been sabotaging myself all this time ehn? I began to pay extra attention to what I was eating, making a note of everything I mean everything (a teaspoon of brown sugar contains 15 calories) In no time I once again began to drop the pounds. As well as eating right (I still have ice cream, chocolates etc) I also increased my physical activity (I am now up to 65 mins of cardio a day, 5 days a week). This morning I weighed 148 lbs and I have retired 3 pairs of pants!

I will be going on vacation in December and I think that image of me in my head on a beach in a bikini steaming up the water with my killer abs (kinda like Laila Ali) will be a reality. Although I expect to lose some of my weight loss momentum while on vacation, I think I am on course to hit my target weight (140 lbs) by my target date (Janury 28th 2008). I can hardly believe it, I have managed to drop a total of 20 lbs! Its been a lot of work I must admit but here I am, preening infront of my mirror actually stopping to look at swim wear in the shops. The hard work is a distant memory. I hope this post encourages someone, writing it has certainly encouraged me. You go girl/guy!

The New Speaker

2007-11-13T12:04:00.000-08:00

Princess and I generated quite a bit of sms traffic during the Etteh saga. The fact that Etteh is from Ikire, Osun State (Princess is from Osun State and has worked in Ikire) made our exchanges more interesting ... at least for me, I took great pleasure in needling her ('you poeple should hold town meeting o and 'call' this woman back home', 'is this the custom in Osun state, eating with all 20 digits?') I guess she was far more chuffed at her ability to decipher my shorthand (l8r, IDK, OMG, LMAO (we are not amused!)) then impressed with my cheekiness. Anyhow on the morning after Etteh resigned I received the following txt message from her 'Etteh-kete has resigned, we thank God 4 His mercy!'. The next day on the phone she gushed about the new speaker, 'He is single and good looking, he has eji-oke (gap between the upper central incisors) like your father, he is Oxford educated (not like my father) ... ' I like to think the apple didn't fall from the tree, in terms of my politics anyway, so I can only assume she is listing the irrelevant (with respect to the Nigerian leadership model) as a result of the fact that she has a single daughter in her 30's in no immediate danger of coming home with a BF/Fiance. I waited patiently while she waxed poetic about the new speaker (whats his name again?) as soon as she stopped for air I quickly jumped in 'Princess you do know that we had to do away with Etteh not because she was a hairdresser therefore 'uneducated' (inspite of her diploma in Law from the University of Abuja) but because she had to stick all her 20 digits in the national cake with such reckless abandon?' 'Of course' she replied, 'I am just glad that such a well educated young man is in politics and has actually made his way to a position where he might be able to effect some change' hmmm ... I am not knocking a good education but really Nigeria is not where it is today for want of oxford/Harvard/Princton/University of Ibadan (hehe) educated nationals. What we have a dearth of in public office obviously are people who realise they are in office to serve first and then reap the benefits of office not vice versa. 'Eni ba she ni idi pepe, a je ni idi pepe, ko kin sebi ti pe ko wa je pepe run o' (He who serves at the altar will eat at the altar, this is not to say one should eat the whole altar) We can only hope that the new speaker will with all his education and paper qualification will be able to decipher his real mandate and get on with the job he along with his fellow law makers were mandated by their constituencies to carry out. And now that he has presented a copy of his NYSC certificate I am 100% sure nothing else stands in his way.

Top of the Tables

2007-11-13T12:01:00.000-08:00

Ah, a lot has been happening on the soccer front.

Da Silva Eduardo (8)
Da Silva Eduardo (50)
Neves Denilson (69)

We beat Sheffield United 0 - 3 away to move into the quarter finals of the Carling Cup where we will meet Blackburn Rovers away on the 18th of December.

Match Report soccernet.com

Francesc Fabregas (48)
William Gallas (90)

We drew Manchester United 2 - 2 at Emirates, with Gallas performing a remarkable feat - getting his name on both sides of the score sheet. I was expecting us to win the match, we did beat them at home and away last season. A draw is not half bad, we are still top of the tables thanks to a higher goal aggregate and we do have a game in hand. I am glad to see that the boys showed they can get 'A' result in a crunch, no fluke, we are the real deal. When all else fails, (skills, etc) character is what helps you 'breast the tape' (that an steroids but that is a totally different sport!) ahead of your fellow competitors. It is now quite clear that this Arsenal squad has character in spades. Twice in a week we have come from behind to squeeze the points through, nice! But ehn (Oliver Twist) make una squeeze a little more ehn and collect all the points at stake. 'You can do it put your back into it!'

I didn't watch the match (I am ashamed to be typing this) not my fault though, my trusty (NOT!) Internet feed messed up at the last minute and I just didn't have the energy to get dressed and race to Santa Monica to watch it at the pub so I turned to Gamecast on soccernet.com. I have decided when I lose my last 10 lbs I will reward myself with a DirecTv subscription (Entree - Setanta, sides - HBO, ShowTime. ;-). Apparently the first half was uneventful, though not for Sir Alex who felt that the only remarkable thing that occurred in the 90 plus mins of the game was some play which I can't now recall by his side in that half. When the Rooney/Gallas combination produced the first goal in the dying minutes of the first half, I began to fear our goose was cooked. I did a little jig in the 48 min when Cesc leveled the score. I was strangely calm when Ronaldo once again put ManU in the lead in the 82 min, somehow I just knew the worst we would do is share the points. I wasn't surprised when we once again drew level in the dying minutes of the 2nd half. I was surprised it was Gallas who scored and I am sure he was relieved (he certainly sounded relieved in the post match interview) I guess Sir Alex was just pissed to be sharing the points after taking the lead twice cos a lot of the stuff he said post match just didn't make sense. He complained about being heckled by fans, (err hello! What do you expect the fans to do, rub you on the head?) he complained about the officiating ... 'All we are saying, please shut your mouth!' Re: Officiating, a couple of accounts of the match I read reported that the ref was a bit officious. Its interesting that I observed the very same thing with the Liverpool - Arsenal match which he officiated just the week before.

We drew Slavia Prague away, nothing much more to report, we play Sevilla at home on the 27th of November

Mathieu Flamini (44)
Emmanuel Adebayor (52)
Alexander Hleb (78)

We coasted back to the top of the tables yesterday with an easy 3 - 1 win away over Reading. Flamini scored his first goal this season which has been a long time coming

Match Report soccernet.com

Next up we play Wigan at home on the 24th of Dec, I hope and pray we come through the international week ahead unscathed (I am replaying the video of Rvp's injury in my head, yikes!) Speaking of international week, I saw this yesterday. I see the 'bombast' has left the big German, perhaps he blew it out over his birthday cake? German 2nd division ehn? He really wants the German No. 1 short badly. Well Almunia is looking solid in goal, he might just get his wish come January.

Rat Race

2007-11-04T09:20:00.000-08:00

A friend sent this to me right in the middle of the 'Ettehgate scandal'.

Liverpool 1 - 1 Arsenal

2007-10-29T15:23:00.000-07:00

Francesc Fabregas (80)

Coming off our 7 - 0 rout of a 'shell shocked' Slavia Prague and given Liverpool's current form ( a 2 - 1 loss to Besiktas on the 24th, 1 - 2 win against Everton on the 20th, 2 - 2 draw with Tottenham on the 7th and 0 - 1 loss to Marseille at home) I was rather confident The Arsenal would be able to clinch all 3 pts up for grabs in this fixture. Forget that our away record at Anfield is not the best; the last time we had a victory at Anfield in the PL was October '03 and our most recent defeat (4 - 1) was in March of this year ( I can still hear my friend all the way from Nigeria enthusiastically screaming down the phone ... ) I was encouraged by our current form. The lads seemed to finally be getting the hang of playing great football and (most importantly) getting the results. Its not one or the other.

No internet streaming for me today, FSC showed the game live. Yippee! 5 mins to kickoff and I noticed that Lehman made the sub list. After all that smack he has been talking? Theo 'Okada' Walcott was on the bench as where Bendtner, Gilberto and Diarra AW decided to play Adebayor upfront with Cesc, Flamini, Hleb and Rosicky in the middle and Clichy, Eboue, Gallas, Sagna and Toure in the defence. The 'Nordic' Spaniard was in goal. Why play Adebayor alone upfront? I wondered. It soon became clear. Rafa had Alonso, Gerrard and ~~Cesc's Shadow~~ Mascherano in the midfield all of whom are quite adept at breaking up attacks hence no room for our usual 50 passes en route to scoring. With those 3 behind Kuyt, Torres and Voronin, I see Rafa planned to keep us occupied at the wrong end of the field. 7 mins into the match, Fabregas fouled Alonso at the edge of the box and a free-kick was awarded. Captain 'G' delivered a blistering volley, so hot it cleared a space in the wall (Flamini! Irregardless, though contract renewal please) just large enough for the ball to pass through and end up in the net. We where a goal down, (there goes my 3 pts for this match on FaceBook, of course I called a win with a clean sheet) My friend with whom I was watching the match had to comment on how calm I was, all cross legged on the couch (see he had previously observed me watching an Arsenal game, the Fulham game I believe it was, I was on my feet in front of the tv the whole time and by the end of the first half I was in need of Tylenol) "This is what the 2007/08 Arsenal side has elevated me to" I replied. "We have consistently been able to come from behind to win our fixtures this season" I inform him, "I am not worried see I am as confident as a turkey that the 3 pts are in the bag". Yeye boy just had to throw sand in my garri, "Not against the rest of the 'Big 4', you have no such record against them." [Picture me sulking for like 30 secs] This is our first 'Big' game in the PL this season true, and the outcome of this game is oh so crucial yeah we need to maintain our unbeaten record but also irregardless of the advantage of a game in hand, Man U are snipping at our heels and they are next up for a trip to the Emirates, next weekend to be precise. The high of a win coupled with the advantage of our home turf (fans and all) is really much needed. Its early yet, I believed the lads would come through and get the result. I had to wait 63 mins before The Arsenal drew level. Hleb's pass on the left arrived just in time in Cesc' path and he tucked it away in the net behind Reina to make the scores 1 - 1. The win eluded us with Cesc finding the lower post and Bendtner blazing the ricochet over the bar. Sigh. I was a little disappointed when the referee blew the final whistle. I believe we could and should have taken all 3 pts from the game. I have seen the team as a whole play much better and although they still managed to dominate the game (especially in the 2nd half) this fact worries me, are we peaking a whole month ahead of the Christmas break? I don't think so. Anyway you look at it that was some quality footy at Anfield on Sunday. Eboue was up to his apparently usual 'gamesmanship' (word of he day) antics. I am thinking perhaps AW should have started Walcott instead of Rosicky ... the Professor knows best, and Cesc was quite quiet, I guess its not easy lugging around such a 'heavy' shadow. Anyways, the 1 point was sufficient to put us back on top of the table ahead of Man U, that and a better goals scored tally. We face Sheffield on Wednesday in the Carling Cup at Bramall Lane and then Man U on Saturday at The Emirates. I expect to see a really confident side against Man U on Saturday, and I hope the lads will make a better job of capitalising on their chances, we won't have the luxury of squandering them. I am sipping on my Coke, no ice ...

Arsenal 2 - 0 Bolton

2007-10-22T10:57:00.000-07:00

Ore darlin', this one is for you.

Kolo Toure (68)
Tomas Rosicky (80)

Again, I had to content myself with monitoring the match on MatchCast from Soccernet.com. Aargh! I am this close to junking my TWC service and signing up with DirecTv.

I was just releasing my breath (held over the duration of the international week), thankful that we managed to come through unscathed as per injuries (save for Senderos, but Gallas was back so we had that covered) when I saw this pix and later read that RvP would be out for a month. Damn. After I calmed down I realised that RvP's absence was not necessarily a bad thing what with Adebayor, Eduardo, Hleb, Bendtner and of course Walcott. This is not the Arsenal of two seasons ago, the fact that RvP is out really means nothing, we have several pple capable of scoring goals in the attack, midfield, even defence ;) (we all know Lehman can assist, even score goals, now if we can only get him to understand that he needs to go across the field, avoid 11 players from the opposing team and put the ball net ...) Speaking of Lehman, it would be a shame if he is going to end his career in goal for The Arsenal on this note. Wenger refused to list him for the Bolton game after he declared him fit and match ready ( he was in goal for Germany) He has been talking a lot of smack lately and its not like his ~~injury~~, time out wasn't legitimate. He really should keep his flapper closed and concentrate on getting his 1st place jersey back the right way - proving he is worthy to the coach. Almunia has served well in goal due in part to the excellent work the defense is doing in front of him, and by defence I mean Flamini (1 contract renewal coming up).

Bolton had earlier sacked little Sam (of the orange crate in the Bolton dressing room fame). I was not surprised to hear this, I was not pleased though. It seemed little Sam's desire to actually play football was the reason Bolton seems to have wandered into the bottom 3 and apparently made camp next to the site they had broken ground on to erect a magnificent edifice. Little Sams departure could only mean that for sure Bolton would revert to their old way of doing things, being a pack of dirty, time wasting shitkickers with 11 men behind the ball as often as possible. (according to arseblog.com)

The stats on Matchcast were like astounding; 19 shots (with 9 on goal), Bolton managed 1 shot (none on goal); 65% possession for Arsenal while Bolton had 35%. They did make good use of their possession with 20 (14 for us) fouls and 5 yellow cards (1 for us). Going by these stats I must say I am disappointed that we only scored 2 goals (and to read about Adebayor's theatrical collapse right in front of goal does little to quash it.)

Toure opened scoring in the 68th minute form a freekick 25 yards out (many thanks to Ivan Campo for fouling Cesc). Hleb fed Walcott who by the way is making Wenger teary eyed with his performance in recent weeks, who made a cross across the area for a fit again Rosicky to turn in at close range in the 80th minute. 90 mins and its 2 -0 to The Arsenal! 3 points in the bag, still sitting pretty at the top of the table. Go Gunners!

We have a busy week ahead; we play Slavia Prague at home on Tuesday in the CL, Liverpool on Sunday at Anfield and Sheffield Utd on Wednesday at Bramall Lane on Wednesday.

Arsenal 3 - 2 Sunderland

2007-10-07T09:22:00.000-07:00

Robin Van Persie (7)
Philippe Senderos (14)
Robin Van Persie (80)

We are doing well this season, coming from behind and getting the result. My loyalty to the team astounds me. I had had a late night and (maybe too many screwdrivers) went to bed at like 3 AM and the match was to start 4 AM my time. I set my alarm and hoped for the best. I did wake up but alas the good fortune I had last week with my internet stream/feed eluded me. I had to content myself with MatchCast on Soccernet.com to monitor the scores, and the highlights on FSC later in the day. I just saw the highlights. Great freekick by RvP in the 7th minute. Senderos scored his 3rd goal for The Arsenal (in 92 appearances) off a failed backheel attempt from Diaby. In the 19th minute it would have been 3 - 0, Hleb (oh how I love thee) made a cross from the right which Fabregas missed but Diaby was on hand to bury beautifully. Imagine my surprise to see the linesman's flag up, offside?! Omo I look de replay well well, nothing like dat, Fabregas was onside as was Diaby when the Hleb crossed the ball, abi the linesman mistake Sunderland defender for Arsenal attacker? God dey. We looked set for a walk through the park at this point and then Sunderland begin to come back from the dead. A long ball forward from Dwight York ( I was just reminiscing about his ManU days and fantastic partnership with Andy Cole the other day) was controlled by Jones who beat Clichy but was denied by Almunia. The loose ball bounced back and was controlled by Wallace who easily found the back of the net since Almunia was not on his line. Jones leveled the score with a brilliant header just at the beginning of the second half. Arsene subbed out the right side (Theo Walcott in for Diaby, Eboue for Sagna) and Hleb switched flanks. Time to grind out the result. In the 80th minute, RvP scored off an effort from Walcott who perhaps redeemed himself on the howler he had had a couple of minutes before.

Apparently this match was no walk in the park for Arsenal, kudos to Roy Keane and the lads from Sunderland, The Arsenal still rules though ;-)

Next up we face Bolton at home on the 20th

Steaua Bucuresti 0 - 1 Arsenal

2007-10-03T17:43:00.000-07:00

Does anyone know how these cable channels decide which matches to show? Espn is yet to show an Arsenal game in the current CL champaign! Well thats not exactly true, they did show our first game albeit delayed on ESPN Deportes ... is there somebody I can petition so I can watch more Arsenal games legitimately?

From all reports we played okay, the most important thing being we secured the 3 pts at stake. This seems to me to be our biggest achievement this season thus far, getting the result. I am happy.

I saw the second half of the ManU vs Roma game. Of course Roma was determined to not succumb to another 6-1 routing, while ManU were determined for a repeat performance. They eventually succeeded in securing the 3 pts at stake in the 70th minute with a really good strike from Rooney.

I was on the phone with Princess on Saturday after the Arsenal match. She asked what I had been up to and I was like I watched the game, we won etc etc. 'O which reminds me' she says, 'I have been seeing boys hawking football club stickers, I want to buy Arsenal sticker for my car.' Why? I asked, 'To support the team I know you love and also to remember you' How sweet! I am thinking and I actually begin to blush when it occurs to me, you mean there is a time in the day when this woman is not thinking about me? You mean she actually needs something to jog her memory!?

West Ham 0 - 1 Arsenal

2007-10-01T13:29:00.000-07:00

Robie Van Persie (13)

I was up at 6:30 am, helpless cos FSC was not showing the Arsenal match, delayed or otherwise (they showed the Chelsea - Fulham and the Man U - Birmingham matches instead, wankers!) Logged on to my computer and was pleased to see that Man City was winning 2 - 1 against Newcastle in the 83rd minute. Correct I called a 2-1 win so my 3 pts were practically in the bag (I was very pissed when Elano scored, 2-1 is afterall a win, why did he feel the need to score another goal? did he not know I also had 3 pts at stake? Over-eager son-of-a- ....) For some reason I started messing about with the streaming application I installed last month or so (God bless U Chxta) and lo and behold I heard the in studio commentator ask viewers to hang on for the live broadcast of the Arsenal match! Yes!!! I quickly got my head phones out.

We don't exactly have a stellar record against West Ham, certainly not away to them, and we did lose to them twice last year so Understandably I was quite nervous. The fact that we have been playing quite well, winning two of our matches so far coming from behind (truly indicative that our goal and fold attitude was surely a thing of the past) did calm my nerves a bit, but then again this IS football.

You could tell that West Ham came to this match secure in the knowledge that the 3 pts were theirs for the taking. The first 10 mins was quite hectic, and Adebayor's failed attempt at goal in the 3/4th minute had me clutching my pillow. 8/9 mins later Adebayor held on to the ball and made a quick pass to Hleb on the right who crossed it across goal. Van Persie intercepted it with his head and we where a goal up. That seemed to calm down the Hammers a bit. Although they did take their revenge via a rather scary tackle on Hleb by Noble which left Hleb clutching his knee howling for his mummy (slight exaggeration). He had to be stretchered off and Arsene not wanting to take any chances (the guy just came back from a knee injury) broke the 70 min rule and subbed Hleb out for Eboue in the 31st min. Van Persie would have made it 2-0 soon after but for the interception Greens fingers provided. I think the goal line would have been very different if not for Robert Green who made many an impressive save during the course of the game. He was really the man of the match for the Hammers.

I was quite impressed with Flamini (contract renewal please), he effectively choked supply to Ashton and Camara. This is not to say the English man didn't have one or two impressive shots on goal, I am happy to report that Almunia was on hand to receive everything he had to dish out.

Freddie Ljunberg was on the prowl to score against us and 9 mins into the second half he did manage to slot one in although (thankfully) it was ruled offside, why? I don't know perhaps the Big G was a Gunner on Saturday? I like Freddie and all that, even after all the smack he was talking about the club about the time he left, and I want him to score against us, just not when said goal woulll mean us sharing the points or worse leaving empty handed! I was amused at the 83 minute substitution for the Hammers (L Boa Morte for L Bowyer) perhaps flooding the pitch with ex-Arsenal players would do the trick? Na final whistle signalled the 3 pts in the bag, We still reign at the top of the tables. Of course we have Man u and Man City (interesting) nipping at our heels, but I think we have everything under control.

We will be away to Steaua Bucharest tomorrow as per our CL champaign and we will be meeting Roy Keane and his lads on Sunday.

How could I forget to mention the ~~rugby~~, ~~basketball~~, ~~volleyball~~, ~~handball~~, ~~american-football~~ … amazing score line that Portsmouth achieved against Reading? I was as usual multi-tasking (watching the Arsenal game on my laptop, watching the Chelsea game on on mute on tv, keeping tabs on the score lines for all the other games via soccernet) I didn't really pay much attention to the scores from the Portsmouth/Reading game until like the 81st minute when my jaw promptly dropped at the scores (at that time it was 6-3). Only for me to blink and see 7-4, wonderful! Apparently that game set a new record for number of goals scored in a premiership match (the prior record was 10 goals)

Also all I can say re: the 2nd yellow card against Drogba is, haba! The guy seems not to realise he is not in the chorus line for a broadway show. That was a very high kick, if for nothing else for the sake of the 'family jewels' he shouldn't be kicking like that o!

No dreadlocks

2007-09-27T20:04:00.000-07:00

Its a strange ritual I know; open the door, drop my bag, take of my shoes make a bee-line for the mirror, give myself a once over, (check out my butt), remove every piece of jewelry I am wearing, change from my 'street' clothes to my 'house' clothes, let out a sigh of relief. I think I picked it up from Princess (the ritual) except the checking out my butt part, I don't know where that came from ... anyway yesterday instead of checking out my butt, I moved closer to the mirror and inspected my hair. As I parted and prodded the mass on my head I realised I would need to comb it soon else I would once again be growing dreads. Sigh. I don't like combing my hair. Its interesting though this antipathy I have developed towards my combs. Here is somebody who up to like 3 yrs ago always either had her hair in a pony tail or in a straight bob because she couldn't stand to have a hair out of place. I always had a brush and a comb in my bag to quickly restore order to my hair in the event that a powerful wind might cause the odd strand to stick out. Now see me going weeks without even running my fingers through my hair. As I noted with satisfaction that my hair had grown like a half inch since I colored it I decided to not postpone the evil day. I step back and in the corner of my eye, I catch my comb leering at me from its perch in my shower caddy. I turned and gave it my best 'I ain't afraid of you' look. It stares back at me defiantly, 'I am the boss of you' it seems to be saying. 'We will see about that, see you tomorrow' I say as I turn out the lights and make for the kitchen, all that muscle flexing has only served to accentuate the hunger pangs I had been feeling since I left the office. I skip the rest of my ritual and and fall upon the 2 slices of pizza in the fridge that I had promised myself I would throw away.

I woke up this morning a little feverish. 'adefunke! adefunke!! adefunke!!!' 'Will you stop this nonsense? All this demo because you have to comb your hair? Come on!' This is the conservative/practical side of me ranting, the one that likes to blend in, preferably fade into the background whose uniform consists of flat shoes, hemlines no higher than 3 inches below the knees, baggy jeans, guys shirts, hair relaxed (or natural) in a ponytail. The fashionable/impractical side of me (the one that made me buy the 4 1/2 inch platforms and all that eye makeup at M.A.C) kept flashing a pix of Gary Dourdan before my eyes, 'Your hair looks just like this, isn't this nice? Don't spoil the look by combing your hair' It kept urging me. 'If you comb your hair without a trim you will look like an S.U besides, its cold, do you really want to spend all that time in the bathroom untangling your hair? You will freeze and catch something for sure!' Oh Hell! I get out of bed headed straight for the bathroom and stuck my head in the shower and turned the water on. There is a very loud silence as I lather in my shampoo. I rinse and slather on loads of conditioner. There is an audible gasp as I reach for my comb. I stick it in the dense growth of hair and Ms Conservative lets out a loud cheer. Ms Fashionable lets out a loud Yoruba-esque hiss and clatters off into the corner in her 5 inch 'f%$# me' pumps. I spend the next 20 mins trying to make order of the chaos on my head, Ms Conservative is chattering away in excitement. As hard as I try I cannot avoid tugging at my hair and my scalp is smarting, I must not forget to take Tylenol. 'You do know I will not be combing this hair tomorrow right?' I ask Ms Conservative She skulks off into the other corner, Ms Fashionable lets out a triumphant grunt. Peace. I luxuriate in the shower for another 20 mins. Argh! I am running late for work. I am whipping around my apartment like a dervish, I manage to leave the house on time without forgetting anything right? Wrong! I forgot my Tylenol! Ms Fashionable is sniggering.

I saw this on the BBC site via mochfella's blog. He thinks the men in Soweto are in trouble, I have a problem with the way the woman are gazing adoringly at the wigs

...
It's silly when girls sell their soul because it's in
Look at where you
be in hair weaves like Europeans
Fake nails done by Koreans
Come again
Come again, come again, come again, come again

Doo Wop (That Thing) - Lauryn Hill

Bush says Clinton will be Dem nominee ...

2007-09-24T20:13:00.000-07:00

... and by this single pronouncement, Bush has successfully jinxed the Clinton champaign and most likely Obama will be the next president!

Bush says Clinton will be Dem nominee news.yahoo.com

Manchester United 2 - 0 Chelsea

2007-09-24T16:45:00.000-07:00

I was not intending to miss this match and in the aftermath of Jose Mourinho's and Roman Abramovich' decision to 'mutually part ways', the match became must see tv so much so that I was willing to haul my behind out of bed early on a Sunday morning get dressed and all that and drive all the way to Santa Monica to watch the match at an English pub at the invitation a friend. Princess called just as I was leaving the house and I didn't have the heart to tell her I was not on my way to church so I lied! (Father forgive me but You sef sabi) So we arrive, we pay the gate fee and shared a very, very greasy breakfast of Heinz baked beans, runny eggs, tomatoes, sausage and toast washed down with a not nearly large enough cup of hot cocoa yum! (one can only wonder why I am not losing the last 10 pounds abi?) We sat next to a group of proxy ManU supporters (I am guessing) who had something to say at every turn, nothing like alcohol fueled soccer commentary I tell you. I did agree with then on one thing though, ManU had a duty to win the match one time for JM and the Premiership as a whole ans to teach AM an important lesson, you don't sack the most successful coach your team has ever had, you leave him in peace to do his work. My friend was really excited at the fact that Mikel Obi was starting and he had a very very brief wavering of allegience I am happy to report ManU won out. Mikel played all of 30mins (?) before getting sent off on a very strange call. I am thinking the referee should have awarded the ManU penalty earlier and not compensated by sending Mikel off, the boy's studs hardly left the ground and he was going for the ball ... Anyway, after many saves Tevez finally got the better of Cech in the dying minutes of the first half and I could just see it coming too; ManU corner by Giggs to Brown back to Giggs low cross across Chelsea and unmarked Tevez heads it in. The Blues go into half time a man and a goal down. They returned in the second half and it seemed to me like they were content to just play it safe and not concede anymore goals while taking extra care on their part not to score any. Could the boys be trying to send RA a not so subtle message? In the dying minutes of the 2nd half, Saha scored from a penalty awarded for a challenge on him by Tal Ben Haim. Jose must have been somewhere, cigar in hand, terrier in lap laughing his head off.

Lars and the Real Girl

2007-09-24T16:30:00.000-07:00

On Thursday a friend invited me to the screening of 'Lars and the Real Girl'. I daresay this is the 'Little Miss Sunshine' for the year, please see it when it opens this fall. I wasn't really enamoured of Ryan Goslings performance in 'Fracture' (let me be honest I was somewhat distracted) and I am yet to see him in 'Half Nelson' but he was golden in the character of Lars our shy bachelor who goes to extreme lengths in his coming of age. The inhabitants of the small village in which Lars lived gave a whole new meaning to the popular saying 'it takes a village to raise a child'.

Death at a Funeral.

2007-09-24T16:19:00.000-07:00

"A dignified send-off for a loved one erupts into uproarious chaos when romance, jealousy, in-laws, hallucinogens, dark secrets, life-long yearnings and a spot of bold blackmail"

I saw this on Friday and maybe it was coming of seeing Balls of Fury upper Friday (not 1/8 as funny as I was hoping, in fact it sucked) I had blast. Nah, even if I saw DaaF right on the heels of the Naked Gun movies it would still have been funny! Please if this movie is showing anywhere near you, see it. Its worth a drive sef, trust me.

Arsenal 5 - 0 Derby

2007-09-24T16:08:00.000-07:00

Vassiriki Diaby (10)
Emmanuel Adebayor (25)
Emmanuel Adebayor (pen 50)
Francesc Fabregas (70)
Emmanuel Adebayor (79)

Coming off Derby's 1 - 0 win against Newcastle, I didn't want to take this game for granted, last season especially we had a very worrisome record against the smaller under-rated teams, sharing points unnecessarily and at times even dashing the points out all together. I needn't have bothered. I was up bright and early to watch the game and my boys no dissappoint me at all.

D - Guns blazing, we opened scoring in the 10th minute with Diaby's rising drive from the edge of the penalty area, a feat he almost repeated a couple of minutes later but for the Derby keeper who denied him.

E - Adebayor made it 2 in the 25th minute, with a pass from Cesc he parted the defence, skipped around the keeper and of course your fathers relative is Bob!

R - 4 mins into the 2nd half, as if dem never suffer reach, we got a penalty off of Oakley pulling Eduardo down in the box. Yes Adebayor stepped up and yes he scored. At this point I was very happy I had called a 3-0 win and I felt it was only good that I also get my 3 pts in my mini-league on FaceBook abi how una see am?

B- Just as I was thinking 'any minute now Arsene will be making his first change of the game', Cesc made a correct drive from 20 yards. I was not even upset that Cesc stole my 3 pts from me. Then it occured to me, this is a good match for a spelling lesson ...

y - 80 mins into the game, Adebayor chested down a long ball, shoke off his marker and stroked in the ball. The young man scored his first hat-trick for Arsenal.

We are still sitting pretty at the top of the table, 2 points ahead of Man U (who inched up after an interesting win over Chelsea) and with a game in hand! We play Newcastle on Tuesday in the Carling Cup which should be fun, then we play West Ham away on Saturday in the PL.

Match Report soccernet.com

Arsenal 3 - 0 Sevilla

2007-09-19T17:39:00.000-07:00

Francesc Fabregas (27)
Robin Van Persie (59)
Eduardo (90)

I called the game at 2-1, didn't think Sevilla wouldn't score. I am not complaining.

Meanwhile e be like say JM don commot Chelsea ... soccernet.com

Convincing start for Gunners soccernet.com

Young Gunners firing on all cylinders soccernet.com

Tottenham 1 - 3 Arsenal

2007-09-16T21:33:00.000-07:00

Missed the first half of the game, (I set my alarm and forgot that it doesn't go off on weekends!) Great comeback from the boys, to think I actually called it! Nice to see us topping the tables once again. I saw the Chelsea match, daylight robbery. It seems the gods are smiling on Blackburn, what with the Lehman assisted goal they scored against us that ensured we shared the points and now the very legitimate Chelsea goal that was disallowed ...

Match Report soccernet.com

Match Report arsenal.com

La's Finest

2007-09-12T17:05:00.001-07:00

My very first encounter with one of LA's finest and I am happy to report all went well!

I had a friend visiting and we decided to make a very adventurous shopping trip out to the Cabazon Outlets (1hr 34 mins one way according to the mapquest.com esimate). We arrived without incident although I must say it was very very hot and going there in the middle of the California heat wave was not helping. Anyway thank God for water and sunglasses and air-conditioning. After walking the length and breadth of the place and buying everything in sight (huge exaggeration) we get in the car and head out back home. As I was driving she was my navigator, reading out directions from the printout I made the day before from mapquest.com. Somewhere along the line me and my no sense of geography self must have missed a turn or something because next thing we were like 30 miles to San Diego! Yepa mo gbe! I take the next exit of the freeway and pull up in the very well lit parking lot of a Bank of America branch. I called a friend who took one listen to the tone of my voice (he later said I sounded like I was about to cry) and had the courtesy not to laugh. Get back on the 215 (North) and then on to back on 'X' freeway (I forget now) then get on the 610 (abi na 710) Contrary to what he thinks I do not live in Long Beach, I will point this out to him later from the comfort of my apartment surrounded by my belongings. So we get back on the freeway and are cruising along (I didn't want to alert my friend but I was pretty worried about the car, the maintenance light had gone from green, to yellow and this morning rolled to red! Wouldn't it be just peachy if this car decided to make a weird noise and just die in the middle of nowhere? Of course when it rains it pours not only are we lost driving in a car which according to the Honda manual is 'totally unreliable' (or something to that effect) once the maintenance light turns red, my phone is quarter to dead and we are fast running out of gas, when it rains it pours right? I began to recite Psalm 23 and made a quick pledge that I would go get de oil change etc as soon as I got home, that I would buy a car charger and will stop waiting for my fuel gauge to flutter just above empty before I fill up my tank and most importantly I will buy a GPS navigation system (Garmin c330 is after all only $228.54 at Wal-Mart). Its like past 9 pm at this point and I am not exactly sure I am traveling at the speed limit. I am traveling in the fast lane and I look in my rearview mirror and I see flashing lights! WTF?! I looked at my speedometer, 72 mi/hr give or take 2 miles. Okay o, I indicated I would be making a left turn and pull over. Imagine my surprise when the police car just kept going. Whats going on then I saw another police car pull up behind me. What is going on? I turn down the music and wait in the car. The cop comes to my window and I wind down. 'Good evening ladies may I see your license and registration please' I hand over my license and what turns out to be my registration. 'Do you know why I pulled you over?' he askes as he looks at my 'particulars' I am thinking damned if I do, but I am too sure you will tell me. 'Ma'am is this car registered to you?' 'Yes it is' 'Ma'am may I ask why you are driving a car registered in California with a drivers license from the state of Texas?' 'Err because I used to live there and only recently moved ...' I was half expecting a buzzer to go off somewhere and him to say 'Wrong answer, go to jail, go directly to jail do not pass go do not collect $200' 'Ok. Ma'am the reason I pulled you over is you didn't relinquish right of way to the mercy vehicle behind you' Oh so that was what that was! How the heck was I supposed to know, besides I pulled over the minute I saw him. Of course I didn't vocalise any of this I just said 'Oh'. He hitched up his trousers and continued to educate me 'In the state of California when you are in the fast lane and a mercy vehicle which could be a firetruck, ambulance, etc is behind you, you should move into the slow lane and let it go by you.' I do recall reading something like that in the Drivers Handbook I read in preparation for taking my drivers test, also not a week to the day, I had also received a similar lecture from a friend on our way to the bowling alley! All this proves is that I am one big 'alako gbagbe' () I put on my best 'I so was not aware of this' face and silently prayed for the best. My bank balance is barely hanging on after all the damage I had nonchalantly done to it over the last 6 hours, a ticket would just finish it. and don't forget, we are not sure if the car is functioning according to the Honda maintenance manual! 'Ma'am I will not be writing you a ticket today, (I almost unhooked my seatbelt and hugged him, realising that would for sure guarantee I get a ticket, I settled for the 'cheaper' sigh of relief/slumping over the steering wheel) 'Next time remember the mercy vehicle has right of way' he said as he handed over my 'particulars' 'Yes officer' my friend and I chorused. 'Okay then, drive safe, you ladies okay with directions?' 'We are lost' my friend and I chorused again. 'Okay, which highway are you trying to get on?' '91 West' my friend replies. 'There is a lot of construction going on in Riverside so I would avoid the 215 through there' (tell me about it, we drove through all the construction/commotion) just drive about 20 mins then take the 'Van Buren' exit and just follow that down you can join the 91 from it.' 'Thank you officer' we chorus again as we get on the road and follow his excellent directions. My friend calls back to find out how we are doing, thankfully my trusty Nokia hung in there with me. 'We are fine, on the 91, I will call when I get home'. Finally I get on the 110 and then take the exit to my street, I have never been so happy to see my street or my apartment building for that matter! I say a quick prayer of thanks for journey mercies as we alight. Of course I collapsed in a tired heap once I got in my apartment.

P.S. I am yet to change de oil etc in my car, I have perished the thought of buying a car charger and the needle for my fuel guage still flutters below empty before I head out to the gas station. I have made several trips to Wal-Mart and I am happy to report I am still sans GPS nav system. I do have Triple A though :-)

Wenger to stay at Arsenal

2007-09-06T16:46:00.000-07:00

Wenger agrees three-year Arsenal deal soccernet.com

Arsenal 3 - 1 Portsmouth

2007-09-02T08:49:00.000-07:00

Match Report soccernet.com

David Dein Redux

2007-08-31T06:58:00.000-07:00

Like a bad penny, Double D is back. Well to be honest, I didn't think he was going to roll over and die ... but really don't 'call a dog a monkey' to us, we can see through your veneer of hastily applied Arsenal club loyalty. At least the imminent take-over bid from Red & White Holdings Ltd is not like tomorrow:

Dein will spearhead plans to increase its stake in Arsenal, although he insists there is 'no current intention to make a takeover offer'.

Dein sells Arsenal shares to Russian billionaire soccernet.com

Gunners MD plays down Dein news soccernet.com

Red and White Holdings Ltd now own 14.58% of Arsenal
arseblog.com

Arsenal 3 - 0 Sparta Prague

2007-08-29T18:12:00.000-07:00

Match Report soccernet.com

Wenger Humour

2007-08-27T13:08:00.000-07:00

'When I saw my Dutch striker step up to face Schmeichel from the penalty spot, my memories went back to Dennis Bergkamp and an FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United back in 1999,' said the Arsenal boss with a chuckle. 'Then Schmeichel saves again. I just hope I don't have to meet his grandson in 20 years time.'

soccernet.com

Arsenal 1 - 0 Manchester City

2007-08-25T09:00:00.000-07:00

Infact! I no know say Schmeichel picken don reach to dey keep o. The boy do well sha, even im papa no fit stop Fabregas shot so ...

The boys were looking good today, I expected a bit more from Manchester City with their 3 game unbeaten record and all but you know they are our 'wife'. I must say I was a lot more comfortable with Almunia in goal ( I can't believe I am actually typing this!) and he did have one or two saves didn't he? Lehmans Achilles injury could not have resurfaced at a better time although one can only wonder if this was a real re-occurrence of said injury or just a way for him to take some much needed time off to get himself together. Either or I wish him 'soonest recover'.

Match Report soccernet.com

Che che colé

2007-08-22T10:19:00.000-07:00

Che che kole
Che che kofiza
Kofi salanga
Kaka chilanga
Ayeiyeee

Ladies (and some gentlemen), does anyone remember singing this song during break in primary school? I know it involved clapping and in typical African fashion, caller response but I can't for the life of me remember if it involved dancing ... Sigh the good ol' days when I didn't have bills to worry about and my only responsibility was finishing my breakfast.

Anyway so there I was jejely easing into the days work. I have switched from listening to celebrity gossip on WBLS courtesy of Wendy Williams (How u doin'?) actually I think the incessant speculation about everybody and anybody's sexuality tired me more than the gossip ... I now listen to my very own radio station on Yahoo (Launchcast?. Its so much fun to not be 'responsible' for the selection of music you listen to well this is not exactly true, you can (and are encouraged) to rate genres, artists, songs, albums, etc and based on these Yahoo makes selections on your behalf. Of course you still get some strange music filtering through no matter how diligently you rate (I guess Yahoo has to make money somehow) ... SO I am listening to my radio, I had been welcomed to work by Sting, Seal, Tupac and Heatwave (in that order) then like some 5 more songs after the unmistakable percussion of latin music, 'e don tey when I listen to Buena Vista o, e be like say time don reach make I give 'Heavier Things' a rest' I thought as I 'tuned' in then I heard it:

Che che colé, (que bueno e’………)
Che che cofriza, (muerto e’ la risa……)
Coqui saranga (ay viene la malanga……)
Caca chilanga, (viene de catanga……)
Ayeiyeee, (a ver e’ tu lo ve………)

Are you kidding me?!

You mean that 'sensless' chanting I did in Staff School wasn't that at all? You mean it was a song, a real song I was singing? OMG! Who is singing this song o? Kia I checked it was Marc Anthony, the sing is titled ' Che che colé' and it is on the soundtrack from the movie 'El Cantante'. Wonderful! The song was apparently originally performed by Héctor Lavoe on whose life the movie was based. I had planned to see this movie but somehow it slipped off my radar. Okay make I no lie, the prospect of being introduced to a 'new' artist and his music was enough to ensure that the movie would never leave my radar. However the fact that I would have to suffer through a J-Lo performance seemed to high a price to pay. I promised myself I would go to B&N and go take a listen to the soundtrack and possibly make a purchase. Now on the strength of this one song and all the warm memories it has unearthed for me I will be buying it.

The Internet is a wonderful thing o! Apparently Osibisa had a song in the 70's titled 'Che Che Kule'. Perhaps this is the song that crept into our playtime repertoire?

Blackburn 1 - 1 Arsenal

2007-08-19T09:03:00.000-07:00

Interesting to note that the two goals scored came 18 mins into the game and 18 mins from the end of regulation time. Again, Lehman was credited with an assist on the opposing teams goal. I think Arsenal played a better game than they did last weekend although one could also say I was able to focus more on this match seeing we took the lead early on. Either or we had no business sharing the points, I really hope we are not once again towing the line we did last season.

Many thanks to Chxta for this info, I was able to watch the match live as opposed to waiting till 11 to watch it (recorded) on FSC.

Match Report soccernet.com

Sparta Prague 0-2 Arsenal

2007-08-15T14:50:00.000-07:00

Match Report soccernet.com

John Mayer

2007-08-14T06:41:00.000-07:00

I recently rediscovered John Mayer. I found his sophomore album 'Heavier Things' on sale in Target and bought it like two weeks ago and I must confess that it bumped 'Lost Highway' (the new Nashville inspired effort from Bon Jovi) from its position as most played recently acquired cd. By the way for all you Bon Jovi fans out there, this is no Dolly Parton album, yeah its a bit more 'stringy' with more pronounced fiddle, banjo, mandolin etc parts but thats it. Jon's tenor is still rich and slightly rough and the bands sound is essentially the same. Go get it if you haven't already.

Back to Mr Mayer, my favorite on 'Heavier Things' is 'Home Life' followed by 'Something's Missing', 'Split Screen Sadness', Clarity', 'Bigger Than My Body', 'New Deep', 'Come Back To Bed', 'Only Heart', 'Wheel' and 'Daughters'. I like the lyrics for 'Home Life' (see lyrics below) although it was his Sting sounding vocals on that particular track that initially caught my attention.

Think I'm gonna stay home

Have myself a home life
Sitting in the slow-mo
And listening to the daylight
I am not a nomad
I am not a rocket man
I was born a housecat
By the slight of my mother's hand

I think I'm gonna stay home

I want to live in the center of a circle
I want to live on the side of a square
I used to be in my M-Z now
You'll never find me cause my name isn't there

Home life
Been holding out for the home life
My whole life

I want to see the end game
I want to learn her last name
Finish on a Friday
And sit in traffic on the highway
See, I refuse to believe
That my life's gonna be
Just some string of incompletes
Never to lead me to anything remotely close to a

Home life
Been holding out for the home life
My whole life

I can tell you this much
I will marry just once
And if it doesn't work
Giver her half of my stuff
It's fine with me
We said eternity
And I will go to my grave
With just the life that I gave
Not just some melody line
On a radio wave
It dissipates
And soon evaporates
But home live doesn't change

I want to live in the center of a circle
I want to live on the side of a square
I'd love to walk to where we both can talk but
I've got to leave you cause my ride is here

Home life
You keep the home life
You take the home life
I'll come back for the home life
I promise

Arsenal 2 - 1 Fulham

2007-08-12T06:06:00.000-07:00

(I am trying to write this post and my STUPID Bayern Munich fan friend is guffawing in my ear!)

As I was saying ...

80 mins into the game I had already composed this post in my mind - Same ole same ole, it seems the only thing Arsenal is committed to this season is to continue the losing to/drawing with soapy teams. Then Toure managed to get a penalty which Van Persie scored superbly and Hleb ensured we didn't lose our opening game. Big up to the Fulham keeper (I think he did well considering 10 mins to the start of the game he didn't know he would be starting) As usual one can only hope Lehman is back on his meds!

Match Report soccernet.com

Match Report arsenal.com

Results!

2007-08-08T07:07:00.000-07:00

I was beginning to think I was loosing my 'edge'

Finally someone hit on me at the gym and just when I am finally seeing the results I have been waiting for! There I was jejely doing my cardio in my Technotronic (Pump up the Jam) induced zone and all. I thought I saw this guy saying hello ... I wasn't wearing my glasses, he could have been (or not) saying anything to anybody. I hit the 25 min mark and I am now psyching myself to finish the last 12 min when I notice the same guy in different clothes walking towards the elliptical machine and I am thinking 'oyinbo funny sha, this guy has different clothes for different exercises in the gym, he must not mind doing laundry' imagine my brief shock and long lasting pleasure when he drops his business card in front of me on the elliptical machine he had written the following note on the back:

Hi My Name Is Mark I Think You Are A Very Beautiful LADY If You Are Single and would Like To go out for Dinner Please Give Me a Call 123-456-7890 OR 234-567-8901 MARK

This is not a bad looking guy, he doesn't look young (as in early to mid 30's) but with oyinbo's I find it hard to tell (my oga at work is only 30 and I could have sworn he was like 35-36). I am however suspicious of anyone who can manage to write such a long sentence without at least 1 comma, and in sentence case no less; what will conversation be like? I will be the first to admit though had he worked for BMW as opposed to Mercedes-Benz all this wouldn't matter a hoot!

My mummy is golden!

2007-08-01T20:29:00.000-07:00

Princess sent me a birthday card. It took a week (I checked the postmark) and N330 (I added the value of the stamps). I am glad to see that something actually still works in Nija believe me Nipost not dropping the ball is something worth celebrating especially seeing that the 'cargo' is so precious. I don't think I have fawned more over pieces of paper. I guess knowing they came from so far away, that Princess and Bee touched them (yes I miss them) and that Princess didn't wait for someone coming over to deliver them (like I did last year although posting them just goes to show how old school she is) is making me all sentimental, a tear escaped my eye when I recognised her handwriting on the envelope. I miss my mummy

What do you you know ...

2007-07-29T17:17:00.000-07:00

Its my birthday today, at least thats what they told me all of a sudden 40 doesn't seem that old!

I am home alone recuperating from the activities running up to this 'big' day; bowling on thursday with the guys (way too many beers), enthusiastic workout on Friday (my trainer is very cute! Note to self: take the Aleve immediately after the workout not two days later when you are practically immobile from the pain) followed by a movie with a friend (I guess my non-stop commentary wasn't such a turn off cos he signed up to see '300' with me on Saturday - buff, half-naked hairless men yum), errands all day Saturday and a play in the evening.

I am sooooo pissed!

2007-07-29T17:14:00.000-07:00

I bought a dvd and a cd among other things from Target then I went to get my car washed. Guess whats not in my shopping when I got home!? I am too sure I carried all my purchases away from Target although I was a bit distracted (chatting on the phone) so now I am not entirely sure waht happened i.e. did I leave the stuff in target or did it get pinched at de car wash? arrggghhhhh!!!!

Stop Trying To 'Save' Africa

2007-07-27T11:39:00.000-07:00

Well said Uzo ... Stop Trying To 'Save' Africa washingtonpost.com

Last Comic Standing

2007-07-27T10:05:00.000-07:00

I got back from the gym on Tuesday and in one fluid motion deposited my mail on the shelf, picked up the tv remote, divested myself of my many bags, got a cold beer out of the fridge, collapsed on my poor couch, turned on the tv and cable box, took a long swig from my drink then let out a long sigh ... heaven. Why bother with the gym you may ask (re: the cold beer) and I would respond its only 100 calories (a mere 8 minutes on the elliptical machine) bugger off! Where was I? Oh yes the TV! 'Last Comic Standing' happens to be on, this is a show I find myself watching while not actually watching. They have apparently gotten to the semi-finals and I was surprised to see Thea Vidale competing. I hit the info button on the remote, nop this is not the new season of Surreal Life, interesting. Thea has been doing comedy (as a professional) for like 20 yrs by her own admission, isn't this show supposed to be something for like amateurs or at the very least like never before seen comics in the US? Anyway after listening to her tired jab at Condoleeza Rice's hair and her not too brilliant conclusion that a man with big hands and feet would be a clown, I was not really surprised she didn't make the semi's and wondered how she got this far in the competition anyway. I could now understand how with her 20 yr experience she would be on a show like 'Last Comic Standing'. A word to NBC, we the viewing public are expecting to see 'new' talent on this show, there are enough comics, you guys really needn't recycle. But if you really MUST recycle, Gina Yashere (a.k.a Mrs Omokorede on the Lenny Henry Show) is a good example of what to do. Search other continents and introduce their comic talents to Americans. Gina is in the top 10 and look forward to watching her next week. Here is to a successful launch of your career States-side durlin!

'Soul Legends are back'

2007-07-25T09:33:00.000-07:00

Looking forward to listening to this album, love Caron Wheeler, love Jazzie's beats.

Soul Legends are back! mirror.co.uk

The red-headed I

2007-07-22T15:47:00.000-07:00

I am watching 'Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants' for like the 3rd time in like 20 hrs (HBO will do that to you) and I suddenly had the urge to color my hair. I had had a conversation about hair color with a friend like 2 months ago and on her recommendation purchased a box of hair color (4rc Cherrywood by Clairol) . So out came the box, on went the gloves and in my hair went the color. I am like 15 mins into the wait for the color to set in. I hope it tuns out well, thank God for my wigs!

Strange Drink

2007-07-06T21:57:00.000-07:00

It was a Friday morning a couple of weeks ago people are arriving at work, logging in to their computers etc and some how the gist turns to urban legends and my colleague describes a very strange coffee bean preparation process involving the digestive tract of a monkey! What!? All it took was two words in Google (Monkey Coffee) and urban legend became fact with some modification, the monkey is actually a palm civet. I am so behind times on this one, among the links that came up on Google was one to an article saying Oprah had hosted a tasting of this very esoteric coffee like 3 years ago. After much discussion and involuntary shudders, my boss whips out his credit card and declares that a tasting is in order and this purchase qualifies as a company expense. I believe all things should be tried once and only once, so I am definitely game for a tasting. Some things should be tried several times in different positions but I digress. Like joke like joke my pipo order a sample from a company online somewhere in Asia. We soon ease into the days work (the credit card does have to be paid off at the end of the month) and by end of day I had promptly forgotten all about Kopi Luwak. Then it arrived yesterday vacuum sealed straight from Indonesia. It was not a small ceremony this morning o, brewing the coffee. Finally it was time to taste it. I must say I was disappointed. I do like coffee, I cannot claim to be an aficionado or anything but the aroma of this particular coffee was like practically non existent (I had to stick my nose in the cup to catch a whiff of it) and it tasted like ... Nescafe! Could this be a case of too many cooks (in this case 4) spoiling the broth? Abi na 'normal' (but very high priced) coffee beans wey we buy? Who knows. We still have some beans left over and we have decided to reconvene on Monday for another tasting, lets see if I will have a different opinion then.

Photo Courtesy of animalcoffee.com

The Artist ...

2007-07-06T21:32:00.000-07:00

I found this in the People section of Time magazine.

'With behavior like this [Prince] will soon be the Artist Formerly Available in Record Stores.'

Paul Quirk, co-chairman of the Entertainment Retailers Association. Record-store owners were livid that Prince gave away millions of copies of his new album in Britain

LOL!!!!!!

Actually the give away hasn't 'technically' happened, its scheduled for the 15th of July in the UK, the new album (titled Planet Earth) will be given away free inside The Mail on Sunday. Make una buy paper, rip de cd, and log on to LimeWire ;)

Hell Yeah!

2007-07-01T11:45:00.000-07:00

Dialogue between a male and female character (played by Tatum O'Neal) on 'Rescue Me'. I don't watch the show so I don't know what their relationship is, judging from their exchange though I am inclined to believe they might be romantically involved:

Guy: You are drunk
Gal: And you are an idiot but I don't rake you over the coals for it
Guy: My being an idiot isn't a choice!

(More like occupational hazard! LOL!!!)

Confused

2007-06-29T16:43:00.000-07:00

I caught parts of the BET awards on TV the other night and was surprised to see Jennifer Hudson win in the Best New Artist category. I was a little confused seeing that she was nominated alongside MIMS, Corrine Bailey Rae, Gnarls Barkley and Lupe Fiasco who all had released albums in the year under review. Has she released an album, or does the soundtrack for ‘DreamGirls’ qualify her? Or maybe what what I really should be pondering is the definition of 'artist' with respect to the category she won for. I must admit that I have had cause to be somewhat confused when it comes to categories and qualifications for said categories when it comes to award shows. Remember when Craig David was nominated in the same category two consecutive years (2002, 2003) for songs (Fill Me In, 7 Days) from his 'Born To Do It' album? I guess he rode the coat tails of the UK release date versus US release date technicality on that one. I still think he deserved to win the grammy both times though.

Non Surgical Facelift

2007-06-29T15:30:00.000-07:00

These oyinbo people are slow o, they are just catching on to the face lifting powers of hair braiding! I had to laugh as I watched this report on accesshollywood the other day. Why do they think us beautiful women from the African continent never look our ages? Yeah (good) black don't crack and whatever does manage to crack we be repairing (albeit temporarily) by braiding our hair creating smooth skin on our foreheads, temples and the nape of our necks. As a matter of fact 'Threading' is another hair preparation method that serves a double purpose. Of course beauty is pain and nothing is as painful as having the misfortune of getting your hair braided/threaded by a person with an excessively firm grip. Panadol does come in handy for the headache, and the pain will go away with time. If you are lucky thats all you will get, a real unlucky person gets the bumps too. aarrgghhh!!! The bumps!!!! Nasty little painful things and they can be the most unsightly mess oozing pus and all.

Lauryn, O Lauryn

2007-06-29T11:49:00.000-07:00

Can You imagine that 10 years after her debut album (The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill) we are still awaiting her sophomore album? I heard a couple of months ago that contrary to what we all believe (i.e. she has been undergoing a 9yr plus mental breakdown) Lauryn has been recording and she has an impressive body of never before seen nor heard work not exactly rivaling Prince (but coming close). I also heard Columbia was refusing to release her sophomore album for not very clear reasons. Lauryn had a concert this past Wednesday in California and if reports of the said concert are anything to go by, I am beginning to see why we will have to wait a bit longer for the much awaited sophomore album. The new material is supposed to be un-inspiring and apparently Lauryn's pipes are rusty. Incidentally I have been listening to the 'Miseducation' album for about two weeks now, I LOVE that album (from 'Lost Ones', 'Ex-factor', 'To Zion', 'Doo Wop', 'Forgive Them Father', Every Ghetto Every City', and her cover of the Frankie Vallie hit 'Can't Take My Eyes of You') and I have been seriously wondering if Lauryn would ever be able to atleast match her debut effort and preferably surpass it. I just pray she gets herself together and puts something out she is so talented and I just love her voice. Love you Lauryn, I will continue to pray for you, you be aight.

Concert review: Lauryn Hill show in Oakland a fiasco
mercurynews.com

Lauryn Hill's Paramount Theatre show gets off to a rocky start
sfgate.com

Joblessness

2007-06-28T17:24:00.000-07:00

You can usually tell a persons ‘place of origin’ in the US from the first 3 digits of their cell number. Mine of course gives away my Texas origins. I have had a couple of friends who have changed their numbers every time they moved from state to state I am very lazy and have often wondered why they bother. On Friday I found motivation to do the same.

I usually listen to the radio on my ride into work. When I bought my car the sales person tuned the radio to 102.7 Kiis FM ‘this is my favorite station’ she proclaimed as she fiddled with the buttons. ‘How nice’ I thought. I later realized she was scamming me out of noticing that the cd player was broken. Or maybe she wasn’t. Anyhow I have on occasion listened to a segment of the morning show called ‘Ryans Roses’ where women send email/fax or call in their relationship issues. Basically a woman or a man calls in because they are not sure about the fidelity of the guy (or gal) they are dating/married to and wants to lay their doubts to rest. After authorizing the show, a call is placed by the show to the unsuspecting spouse/significant other and an offer of free roses is made which they can send to anyone in the continental US of course the ‘florist’ needs the name and address of the recipient as well as a message to go on the card. The call can go either of two routes after the recipient of the roses has been established. Profuse apologies are offered (and I imagine a lot of off-air make up sex) if the recipient of the roses and the person who initiated the Ryan’s Roses call are one and the same or abuses and a lot of on air drama if not. On Friday Lupe called the show. She had been dating this guy for sometime and she needed to know where she stood with him. He had been making promises but nothing seemed to be forthcoming and oh, he is married! Donkey! Why do women do these things to themselves? Men are not as noble as we like to think, if a guy is tired of a relationship in as much as his partner is not his meal ticket he really doesn’t need too much persuasion to move forward. I have heard the old ‘I am only here cos of my kids’ line but ehn … I don’t know. Apparently this particular guy had been promising to leave his wife (spinning her the ol’ yarns) and she chopped his lines so much she broke up with all her friends and introduced him to her parents (as what abi?) etc etc and now 2 yrs later she has a really bad taste in her mouth and needs a huge dose of public humiliation to see what is obvious to the rest of us; she is just a jump off that homebody is recycling like rain water. So the call is made and like a good boy who just got tired of eating ‘rice’ all the time he asks that the roses be sent to his ‘lovely wife Marie’ with a message worthy of any loving husband. he donkey (Lupe) was furious. At this point Ryan butts in and tells homeboy what is really going on and asks who Lupe is to him. Y’all think Doug E Fresh can beatbox? Yo Doug E aint got nothing on this Cassanova. I haven’t heard so much scratching since the 80’s! The guy sef no get any kin game, if na me wo I go deny sotay de girl sef go begin second guess herself by the time I am through with her she will be apologising to me! Anyway, moving on ... After what seemed like an eternity (I was on the verge of putting my car in park in the middle of the 405, climbing on to the roof and breaking out in a break-dance routine no point wasting his beat-boxing/stammering) when he manages to stammer out that Lupe is his friend and after further coaxing admitted they where ‘romantically platonic’ friends. I am laughing so hard by now I can hardly see. Of course every married woman in LA is calling in to the show by this time (I bet the boards hadn’t seen so many calls prior), and the ones who made it on to the air were doing a damn good job of yapping our poor damsel in distress. Me sef, I don reach for my phone to deliver some choice words when I realized that I wouldn’t be connected; the 1-800 number would only connect local (California) numbers. Chei! Could this be the reason? Is this why my friends always change their numbers when they move? I figured they must have been trying to give bill collectors the slip or something but I think I have hit gold here. I mean the ability to call in to local morning radio shows and add your 2 cents to whatever issue is on hand sure as hell beats buying a cat. Perhaps. I am quick to realize though that it would take more than Lupe the Donkey and her inability to realize her jump off status to get me to go through all the wahala. And I am hardly in danger of buying a cat (not a huge fan of animals up close and personal). Besides why bother when I can blog about it?

Its about time

2007-06-23T00:14:00.000-07:00

Sad to see you go, I do understand your quest for the elusive Champions League title. I wish you all the best with Barca.

Thierry Henry headed to Barcelona sportingnews.com

Epidemic of Ignorance

2007-06-21T11:37:00.000-07:00

This isn't even funny.

The Difficult Struggle Against AIDS in Africa speigel.de

OMG!

2007-06-07T10:37:00.000-07:00

Eni ba je gbese da oran (Whoever owes is in trouble). This statement is usually made by my people when contemplating how fast time has gone by. Today marks the 1st anniversary of my departure from Nija. I can hardly believe it, one year ago today I overdosed on 'liver', packed up my suitcases kissed Princess and Bee so long and hopped on the plane. I must say the past year has been a great experience I really have a lot to be thankful to God for; the courage to just trust Him and launch out into the deep, He not denying Himself and waiting on the other side to catch me, raising people to help me, get me settled in and all, taking care of Princess and Bee (so much so I fear they don't even know I am gone!). I am really grateful. I would like to say a big thank you to my friends who opened up their homes, lives, friends and family to me, may God continue to bless you and may you always find a helping hand. Today I face the coming year not with as much fear as the preceding one and with a lot more hope

He is back!

2007-06-06T13:51:00.000-07:00

Raphael is back!!!

I did a little cheer as he hobbled out from the back room. He looks a little tired and all that, his eyes looked a little tired, poor thing. The deli was busy so we didn't get a chance to do do more than say hello and keep it moving. I'll go down later to buy chips or something to catch up. By the way, my sandwich is great!

Lunch has no been the same ...

2007-06-05T18:33:00.001-07:00

Raphael has not been in to work for almost two weeks.

I skipped downstairs last week for my usual sandwich and he wasn't there. Julio made my sandwich and it wasn't too bad, it was owever missing the Raphael touch (whatever that is). Well there is always tomorrow. Tomorrow comes again no Raphael. 'May I take your order ma'am?' Asked a strange guy. Oh no! Has Raphael been fired? Did he resign and not tell me? So many questions, relax, I am sure it is none of the above he probably just has some time off work and no this stranger is not 'replacing' him like that. Besides there is a more pressing issue to contemplate, do I really want the new guy making my sandwich? How can I get out of this? It would not be polite of me to ignore him or ask that another person attend to me, plus this is where I eat, I really don't need to be making enemies here before they start serving sandwich wit a side order of spit. And the yeye man wasn't helping matters at all, being earnest and everything, drat. I am between a rock and a hard place here, I placed my order. I watched in horror as he slapped my sandwich together OMG! Not the tomato slices directly on the bread, don't you know that will make the bread all soggy!? You for try squish the avoado a little before adding it to the sandwich that way it wll help hold the bacon to the bread not fall out in chunks as you are masacaring my sandwich under the guise of cutting it up! I couldn't watch anymore! I muttered my thanks and paid for my food. Na dustbin get this sandwich I thought to myself, watching the guy put it together was traumatic enough, I didn't think I could put my stomach through the ordeal of digesting it. 'Speak for yourself honey' my stomach growled as my hand hovered over the trash. I had a meeting in 30 mins with clients from out of town. The nearest 'Subway' is like a 20 mins walk away in the 'upstairs' (4 inch platforms) I am wearing. And today is the day I decide to leave home without my trusty Nature Valley bar. And dis my belle sabi embarrass person, na so de yeye thing go begin dey make noise like say I swallow lion, loud and long growls. I no get choice, I proceeded to eat the messiest sandwich I have ever laid eyes on. Picking the thing up from the Styrofoam box no be small work, taking a bite out of it nko? At one point na im I just give up begin to use fork eat am. I managed to eat half of it and threw the rest in the bin. At least my belle no go embarrass me for meeting.

Note to self: I am a paying customer, I should get my money's worth. Next time that guy attempts to make me a sandwich I will politely decline. Raphael oh Raphael, where art thou? Please hasten to me lest I fade away into the woodwork from lack of proper nutrition

Next day I am bobbing and weaving the minute I got off the elevator. No Raphael! Where is Raphael? Why is he doing this to me!? Thankfully Julio was on hand to rescue me from the new guy. I was pleased to see he had learned to cut my sandwich just right (the Raphael way). 'Julio, where is Raphael?' 'Oh Raphael, he fall, he in hospital' 'What?!' That came out a little louder than I had intended, but I couldn't help myself. 'Is he alright?' 'Yeah, he hurt his knee, he phoned today' Thank God! Its not like he is unconscious or anything like that. 'Could you tell him I said hello and get well soon?' and I miss him and who told him he had the right to be falling down and hurting himself and get himself all hospitalized leaving me without a lovingly made sandwich for lunch? 'Sure' Julio replies with a smile and twinkling eyes. Na you sabi, sha greet him for me. Everyday I go down for lunch, my heart is in my mouth, is he back? As at this afternoon he is not AND I learn today he might be having surgery. Eya. Get well soon o, lunch has not been the same and I really don't know for how long I can avoid the new guy without making an enemy of him. I think I am going to take lunch to work tomorrow.

Ope O!

2007-05-30T16:44:00.000-07:00

MG don born o, abegi helep me rejoice!

Person go think say na me pregnat de girl as I just dey show my teeth like Cheshire cat since I hear de good news. Gudugbe na 'abi girl' o, I hear say de picken big (4.1kg) and say she long. I happy no be small o, I am anxiously awaiting pictures, I don dispatch everybody wey I know make dem go take picture email to me. I happy sotay, I dey suspect say I no dey coherent. My heart just de do somersault for inside my chest. God is good o! I have been bombarding poor MG (to be known as Maa! from now on) with silly txt messages, I figure they will be less stressful on her as opposed to me calling every 10 mins. I am so happy I could scream (come o wetin dey stop me?) Yippee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Music sweet music - An Update

2007-05-23T22:43:00.000-07:00

Today I bought Dr Dre's 'The Chronic' and Bon Jovi's 'Slippery When Wet' albums. Both albums are on the '100 great albums youu shoud own' list (according to bmgmusic.com) which I am trying to make up, I am currently 64 albums shy of my goal, and I have promised myself I won't pay more than $10 (inclusive of tax) on each one. Wish me luck. So I am home, watching American Idol on mute (A well deserved win for Jordin Sparks) , rocking my 'new' Dre album, doing some work on the computer (pathetic I know) thinking why oh why is the cd player in my car not working? I had blogged earlier about the cd player in my car, till this day I have not taken the car in for the unit to be removed and sent to some 3rd party facility to be repaired primarily because I cannot imagine riding around in the car without music. I guess I was missing the cd player today because I didn't feel up to ripping my new cd's to my iPod. Ah well thats that, case closed. The I remembered I was out of hair conditioner and I needed to make a quick dash to Wal-Mart. I grabbed my bag and keys and on a whim the 'Slippery When Wet' album. 'Who knows' I thought, 'Maybe the yeye cd player fit work sef'. I start the car and slip the cd in the player ... it played! I was very happy I listened to my 'Church Mind' as I screamed along to 'Livin' on a Prayer' on the drive to and from Wal-mart. So what happened? Did the player just decide to start working? Perhaps it was working because I had a tape in the tape player. I ejected the tape, ejected the cd, turned off the ignition, turned it back on the slipped the cd in the player ... it worked. No I didn't do all that while I was driving! I performed my little experiment while parked in the Wal-Mart parking lot all the while looking left and right like a thief make dem no go car-jack somebody. Maybe its the particular cd, hmmm ... I waited till I was back at home to perform the second part of my experiments. I whipped out my cd case which holds like 20 cds but I have the sleeves holding at least 2 cds each so who knows how many cds are in it. Anyway I proceeded to try each one. Eject cd, turn off ignition, turn on ignition insert new cd, eject cd, turn off ignition, turn on ignition insert next cd etc etc. My ignition survived the experiment and so did the cd player. Yipee!!! I unload myself and my purchases and skip up to my apartment. Could the people at the dealership have inadvertently fixed the cd player? Who knows, who cares! My cd player is working.

P.S. I just remembered that Time magazine also had a list of must have albums (The All-Time 100 Albums) which they published in 2006. Bon Jovi didn't make it on the Time list, I ain't mad though.

Sir Shina Peters

2007-05-20T18:20:00.000-07:00

A friend sent me a link to Sir Shina Peters 'Ace' as a present the other day. I was at work and it was really hard not to just get up and fling my hips around. Anywho, although the lyrics (at the time the song was released) were considered really raunchy, I could not help but admire the imagery they conveyed especially this line:

afara omi ton da mi lorun ton je siki-siki

(the bridge that is your breasts that is 'breaking' my neck)

Back to Black

2007-05-11T15:25:00.000-07:00

'They tried to make me go to rehab I said no, no, no'

I am currently 'in love' with Amy Winehouse. There has been a lot of buzz about her US debut album which is actually her second album ‘Back to Black’. I googled her and this tiny white girl under a hug beehive and like tons of mascara and eyeliner emerged. A very ‘50s-‘60s look to match her ‘50s-‘60s rock & roll (as well as R&B and soul) inspired album. I have only listened to two tracks off her album (‘Rehab’ and ‘You know I’m no good’) and I love them both. I especially like her very defiant singing on ‘Rehab’. The story behind the song is interesting too, she apparently penned it after her management company suggested she go into rehab for her … eh … drinking ‘problems’. She dumped them before she wrote the song by the way. As usual iTunes is offering a ‘jara’ track on their site (You know I am no good feat. Ghostface Killah). I heard it once on the radio and it sounded interesting. Hold on, that particular track is on GhostFace’s album ‘More Fish’. I definitely will be putting my money where my mouth is.

Does your poopoo float?

2007-05-10T13:18:00.000-07:00

I do like Gregory House. If I were a patient of his, I would be far more interested in his ability to have me cruising down the freeway to recovery and less about his bedside manner. Believe me being critically ill in the hospital hooked up to all sorts of gadgets with your organs crashing with every breath you draw (as is the case with all his patients) it wouldn’t matter that your doctor was polite it would matter that he is able to pull u back from the white light. I am watching House as is my custom on Tuesday evenings after Idol and he had to attend to this couple who had come in because the guy was producing ‘floaters’ not ‘sinkers’. According to his vegan girlfriend who was also a nutritionist, he shouldn’t produce floaters. House agreed with her, since he wasn’t eating meat, fatty or lean his poop shouldn’t float. ‘Floaters’ are caused by a diet rich in fat. House declared.

Hmmm … could this be the answer to the puzzle that I have been pondering ever since I heard Frank Olize ask the following question on NTA’s Newsline – ‘Does your poopoo float?’ Does anyone remember that particular episode? He had Quincy Ayodele on when she was just starting out and he opened the show by asking that question. I recall we all watched in my house in Ikeja like the rest of the nation wide eyed as this woman analyzed the state of peoples health based on their excrement and I have been fascinated ever since. Apparently floaters meant a person was healthy while sinkers were an indication of something gone/going awry. As a toilet worker in form 4, I was conditioned to hate floaters especially when there was water scarcity. You could flush with a hundred buckets of water and after all the commotion, and dodging of splashing toilet water the damn thing would just bob back up defying all your efforts like some sick jack-in-the-box. With time I perfected my technique and I must admit a floater was much more desirable than the ol’ padlock or used sanitary pad in the toilet bowl! A couple of years ago I noticed I was consistently producing sinkers and asked Princess about it. ‘Don’t you have something better to do with all your spare time?’ She asked. She did say as long as I am going regularly, I am not constipated and it’s not black like charcoal or bloody I am fine. I kept meaning to get online and read up about floaters vs sinkers but I guess I was ‘afraid’ of what I was going to learn coming from my Quincy Ayodele/Newsline background.

This morning, drawing ‘hope’ from the Tuesday episode of ‘House’ I got on Google. I found this article online which put everything in perspective. Vegetarians think the floater is king and apparently strive to produce them. In a healthy person floaters are caused by air and gas. The more air and gas in your poop, the less dense it will be and the more likely it is to float. So what causes the air and gas situation? Dietary changes for one. The inability to digest fat as a result of a dysfunction in the GI tract can also cause floaters. Also gastrointestinal infections cause increased gas content in the intestines which will also cause floaters. So I have finally laid the whole floater/sinker controversy in my mind to rest. The final nail in the coffin will be to ask my doctor about it at my next physical.

I also stumbled upon this article which is just hilarious. I can really relate though. For those who know me, I must have regaled you of my eventul trip from Lagos to Ibadan in '92

Arsenal 1 - 1 Chelsea

2007-05-06T10:38:00.000-07:00

A draw is the next best thing, congratulations to Man-U

Match Report soccernet.com

Solidarity, my eyes on the line

2007-05-04T14:41:00.000-07:00

When I moved to LA I had a list of things to do. Of course the first thing on my list was get an apartment then a car etc. In March, the next item on my to-do list was to get my eyes tested and get a proper prescription. In Nija I had been told I was short-sighted and slightly astigmatic. But to what degree was I a combination of both? Apparently it was for the optician to know and for me to return every year for a checkup and fork over N X for new lenses and N Y for new frames and N Z in service charges. My search for an optician/optometrist in my area returned several doctors including one I identified as Nigerian from her name. Solidarity forever! I immediately called her office to make an appointment. I got the answering machine telling me the clinic was only open Tuesdays and Thursdays and Saturdays by appointment only. I had called on a Wednesday and made a note to call on Thursday. Many calls later Thursday evening and I still could not get a human to pick up the phone. A well, Tuesday is another day. Come Tuesday, same thing, machine no human. I decided to leave a voice message. Thursday is yet another day. Two months and several voice messages later, nothing. I started getting headaches over the past weekend; you know the type in the front of the head around the eyes. Tuesday I tried the lady’s office again, no show Thursday the same thing. Patriotism/solidarity is threatening to kill me slowly and painfully by headache. I run another search on my insurance website and pick the first optician that comes up (she is Chinese). I call the office and on the first ring a female picks up all bright and cheery. ‘I am new in the area and would like to make an appointment to see the doctor?’ ‘Sure may I have your name and provider please?’ Five minutes later I am all set with an appointment first thing Monday morning my cache of Panadol should tide me over the weekend.

Darwin Correspondence

2007-05-03T10:46:00.000-07:00

Letters between Charles Darwin and his friend and theological sparring partner Asa Grey are being made public and will be re-cast in play, Re:Design (nice title) written by Craig Baxter which is due to start touring in theaters soon. Apparently irrespective of how you believe you came to be ('intelligent design' or evolution) we all share a common insecurity about atleast one part of our anatomy in Darwin's case it was his nose. In one of his letter to Grey, Darwin writes:

Will you honestly tell me that the shape of my nose was ordained and guided by an intelligent cause?

I am looking at pictures of him and I must say that his nose is big but I have seen bigger and it was clever of him to keep such a huge beard, it kinda balances out his nose!

Darwin's doubts revealed in his letters to friends independent.co.uk

Enough!

2007-05-03T10:06:00.000-07:00

Today its a life saver, tomorrow it is speeding you along the highway of bad health. I say the real culprit here is over indulgence, life takes moderation ... and Visa. That said I will be resuming my one a day cup of concentrated Joe habit with a clear conscience. I will replace my Peak Evaporated milk with skim milk and will be holding off on the sugar.

Coffee can be good for you, experts say news.yahoo.com

AC Milan 3 - 0 Manchester United.

2007-05-02T20:11:00.000-07:00

So we will be having a repeat of the 2005 Champions League final, talk about Deja vu. Well technically not true since this final will be played in Athens.

Match Report soccernet.com

Liverpool 1(4) - 0(1) Chelsea

2007-05-02T09:40:00.000-07:00

Way to go Liverpool, 2nd Champions League final in 3 seasons! For sure I will be watching this final.

Match Report soccernet.com

Yikees!

2007-05-01T10:48:00.000-07:00

I had the scare of my life this morning. I got to work and was waiting on the elevator with two guys in the lobby. The elevator comes and I am ushered on by one of the guys. I get in and punch my number, saying a quick prayer for my quick and safe arrival at my destination (this particular elevator is notorious in my building for misbehaving) the doors close. As I am thinking that the cab seems crowded with just 3 people in it, one of the guys asks me 'So how is your day going'? It seemed an odd question to be asking seeing that its just 9:05 am and why is he interested in the way my day is going anyway, is he planning to influence it for the better ... or worse!? 'Good so far' I replying with a smile which I hope came across as care-free. I waved my crossed fingers in the air for good measure. 'Please don't have a gun, please don't have a gun' I pray fervently to my self. The elevator seemed to be inching along at snail pace. It seemed my latter prayer had bumped the former down in the priority list! Ding! I am here! In one piece! 'Y'all have a good one' I admonished as I got off, 'You too' they chorused in unison. I need to stop watching the news!

Words and Memories

2007-04-24T15:26:00.000-07:00

Everytime I hear the word 'reprehensible' specifically when qualified by the word 'morally' (is that right, does morally qualify reprehensible?) I remember the movie 'Witches of Eastwick'. I do not know if I saw this movie before or after the biggest crush in my life (nop second biggest, the first one caused the scar on my thigh) made a recording of the scene between Daryl and Alex on a Maxwell Metal Tape (remember those?) and gave it to me to listen to. I do know that this movie made me fall in love with Jack Nicholson, and Daryl (the character he played) is responsible for my facination with 'dark' men.

It was a painful crush I had on this guy. Once I am within a 100 metres of him my heart starts working over time. He changed schools and I was crushed only to be lifted up when he wrote me a letter a true testament to our mutual love for Prince. I slept with it under my pillow for years. I saw him again after he changed schools, he came for a visit and I was so overcome with all the feelings I was feeling to be in his prescence, I didn't say a word and when I did I babbled incoherently. I felt like a real idiot afterwards and it took a while to shake the feeling. Till this day when I here the word reprehensible I remember the movie 'witches' and I think of him. And I wondered what it would have been like if we had actually dated. We had soooo many things in common and we could talk for hours (ah, all those overnight reading at anatomy moves). Sigh. Anyway crush number 2, if you are reading this, now you know how I really felt about you in 1992!

SO

About 2 weeks ago I was flipping channels one evening and what did I see was showing on MAX, 'Witches of Eastwick'! I was this close to subscribing to MAX so I could watch it. I constrained myself sha, consoled myself by thinking about crush number 2 for like an hour! I was doing some grocery shopping in Target on Saturday and once I was done with my list decided to browse through the dvd collection and see if they had 'Notes on a Scandal' as I perused the offerings, under the $5 or less dvds you will not believe what I saw. No, not crush number 2, (that would be who not what) Witches of Eastwick!!! I couldn't believe my luck. I felt like I had won the lottery, thank God I didn't waste my money getting MAX. I planned to watch it on Sunday afternoon but that didn't happen. I watched it last night and the movie is still a delight 20 yrs after. For me the highlight of the whole movie is that scene between Daryl and Alex at a time I could recite it all word for word and yesterday I found I really hadn't forgotten much of it, here goes

Alex: What is it that you think you are doing?
Daryl: Being as direct with
you as I know how. I thought you might appreciate it and eh ... anyway I always like
a little (grinding into the mattress) pussy after lunch. What do you say? Hmm?
Alex: (incredulous) Are you trying to seduce me?
Daryl: I wouldn't dream of seducing you Alexandra. I wouldn't insult your intelligence with anything as ... trivial as seduction. But, I would (eye dimming, hips grinding) ... love to fuck you.
Alex: Well I have to admit that I do appreciate your directness Daryl
and I will try to be direct .. and honest with you as I possibly can be. I think
... no I am positive that you are the most unattractive man I have ever met in
my entire life. In the short time we've been together you have demonstrated
every loathsone characteristic of the male personality and even discovered a few
new ones. You are physically repulsive, intelletually retarded, morally
reprehensible, vulgar, insensitive, selfish, stupid. You have no taste a lousy
sense of humor and you smell (Daryl sniffs his underarms). You are not even
interesting enough to make me sick!
Daryl: (Trade mark Nicholson brow arch)
Ummm ... would you like to be on the top or the bottom?
Alex: Good-bye Daryl
and thank you for a lovely lunch (makes for the door)
Daryl: (luxuriating on
the bed) Well if thats the way ou feel about it ... thats the way you feel about
it. Is that the way you feel about it?
Alex: (Turns around, marches back
into the room flabbergasted) Who are you?
Daryl: (Trademark evil smile) Just
your average ... horny little devil (trademark leer).

(for those who have never seen this movie, a little fingering of Alex' brain ensues and he does get a little 'sumin-sumin')

I love that scene, I am going to copy it onto my iPod!

My Treacherous iPod

2007-04-23T21:21:00.000-07:00

As I contemplated my perfectly planned weekend, (organise the delivery of the rest of my bedroom furniture, do some grocery shopping, buy 'Notes on a Scandal') my iPod decided to muzzle its way to the top of my agenda. Actually it started giving me warning signs Thursday evening. I recently bought a Des'ree cd (I Ain't Movin') and I ripped and copied it onto the iPod. When I was done I ejected the iPod and noticed that the battery charging icon was still flashing. Hmmm ... I reset it and connected it again to charge then I went to bed. Next day, I check it, power meter hasn't moved. Hmmm ... I take it to work planning to monitor it. I am thinking perhaps the battery is bad. I plug it in and promptly forgot about it. By end of day when I looked at it the battery was completely dead. Why is this thing not charging? Is the battery bad? Is there a problem with the comms interface? Is the charger bad? Of course by now I had whipped myself up into a real frenzy, If I were a souffle I would have been floating! I am hardly coherent, going mad with dispair, what does this mean? Is that it, 4 months of a fantastic relationship and then just like that its over? Silence? How will I cope in the gym? In the car? At night? Especially at night? Oh! It hurts just thinking about all that silence. I get online and find the nearest apple store. Thankfully its like down the road from the office. I hop in the car and arrive at the store without incident.

25min after I set foot in the store, I finally got to talk to someone. After carefully explaining myself the guy plugs the iPod into his laptop and can you imagine the treacherous thing? The backlight comes on, the yeye thing is charging?! I could see the tech mentally filling me under the 'dumb' category in his support call list. Although I was glad it mean't I wouldn't be forking over $100 for a new battery I was a bit confused, why wouldn't it charge at home? I ask the technician and suggested perhaps my charger was bad. We switched to my charger and my iPod continued chugging up juice! After like 10 mins the tech disconnected my iPod and asked me to just let it charge over night and all should be well. 'Let me just turn it off' he says as he clicks and holds the play/pause ... button. 'Hold on' he says after like 5 secs, 'there is something wrong with this iPod, when did you buy it?' he asks. Phew! 'December' I reply with relief, so I am not a dumb user after all. 'I will have to replace it for you' he replies as he readies himself to initiate the required paper work. 'Ehm what will happen to all my stuff on the harddrive'? I ask. 'Not to worry, its all synched with what you have on your computer' OhOh! When I just got the iPod in an uncharachteristic move I didn't read the manual and so was unaware that you can only synch an iPod with one computer. Shaky shaky me, I had gone and synched my iPod with my friends laptop and as a result I had no backup of ALL the cool albums I got from Seattle. Bummer! I remembered copying off the entire IPod_Control folder sometime ago but I wasn't sure if what I did would be viable. Come o, shebi the thing don dey charge? Maybe I can go home and mess around a bit more and see if I can rescue my music. 'I actually have stuff I haven't synched yet, could I take this home and synch it then come for the replacement tomorrow?' 'Sure' he replies handing over my iPod. I wanted to shake it like the naughty child it is. However I need to keep it 'alive' until I got my precious music off it so I restrain myself and carry my high behind off to my house, thankful for the warranty, hopeful that I will be able to rescue my precious albums. You know how your car makes one strange noise for like 6 months which disappears the minute you drive into the garage and reappears the minute you drive out of the garage? substitute 'car' for 'iPod', I wanted to swallow a bottle of sleeping pills and just lie down! Hold that thought, not before 'real Time with Bill Maher'. An hour later I was no longer suicidal just hungry. I go online and make an appointment at the apple store for saturday, thank God for bmgmusic.com, I should be able to replace most of those albums, the ones that I can't find I will beg/toast my friend to burn to dvd and mail to me.

A little help ...

2007-04-23T15:58:00.000-07:00

Anyone remember a young boy on tv in the early 80's with the afro and the gold lame outfit? I remember these lyrics from the song - 'lookup lookup look up in the sky'?
anyone????

Incredible

2007-04-23T13:52:00.000-07:00

I need the address of this 'plastic surgeon'! Imagine you retire to your farm for the weekend as Obasanjo and emerge on Monday as Yar'Adua. Wonderful!

Not a great lunch

2007-04-23T13:47:00.000-07:00

Lunch today wasn't the same, Raphael was in the back doing God knows what (his job you ninny) and by the time I spotted him through the glass pane in the door, Julio was preparing my sandwich. Too much mayo, greasy bacon, I miss Raphael.

KSA at Starbucks

2007-04-18T10:58:00.000-07:00

Its 9:10 am on Tuesday, I am on my way to work and my stomach is growling. I stop at the Starbucks down the road from my office to get a slice of Banana Walnut cake. I braced myself for the usual loooong queue and was pleasantly suprised to find it was only two persons long, nice. As I wait my turn I look at the various items on display for sale; brightly painted mugs, various coffee making contraptions and of course exotically name coffee beans. Its my turn and I place my order I make a silent promise to work and extra 15 mins on the elliptical machine as I added a vanilla mocha, non-fat, no whip to my order - not my fault, the smell of coffee seduced me! As I waited on the other end for my concoction to emerge generally enjoying the combination of the lighting, smell and music, I heard a very familair beat. I must be dreaming, Sunny Ade? In a Starbucks shop? I stepped back from the group of waiting customers and listened carefully. 'Pererem perem pererem pem' (Thats supposed to be a guitar lick!) Yup once again my ears had not fooled me it was Sunny Ade. Who would have thought I would be listening to KSA in a Starbucks shop in sunny California? I couldn't resist swaying to the beat, as my head swelled with pride. I wanted to nudge the person next to me and tell them they were listening to KSA, that he and I are Nigerians and he had actually received a grammy nomination in the 'World' music category for 'Odu' released in '98. I constrained myself though both in voice and hip movements and sang along in my head:

aiye aiye
ebe mo ma b'aiye k'aiye ma ma ba wa ja
aso iyi ko ma faya mo wa lara
aiye le o Adegoke mi aiye ma le
hello o
'ello 'ello o penkele
penkele
hello o
'ello 'ello o penkele

My order was ready and as I walked to the car I tried to remember the title of the song I had just heard. Was it 'Aiye le'? Once I got to my desk I searched through my collection of Sunny tracks on my iPod. Nop no song titled 'Aiye le' by Sunny Ade. I got online, nop no such song on iTunes although I did find a song titled 'Aiye le' by Solomon Ilori and one titled 'Aye le' by Tony Allen. No luck on Walmart, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, not even Limewire (I asked a friend to search for me) hmmm ... I could tell I was going to learn a lot about Sunny before the day was up. I tried searching on google using the line I could remember from the song 'Aiye le o ore me aiye ma le'. I found a link to an extensive discography for KSA maintained by a Japanese biochemist named
Toshiya Endo! Imagine that! Not only did he have stuff on Sunny Ade, he had stuff on Shina Peters, Ebenezer Obey, Dele Abiodun, Sikiru Ayinde Barrister, Kollington, KWAM 1, Ayinla Omowura (imagine!), Haruna Ishola, Oliver de Coque, Prince Nico Mbarga, Sonny Okosun, Victor Olaiya, Victor Uwaifo, Rex Lawson, Youssou N'Dour, Salawa Abeni!!!!!!!!! (E gba mi!!). And of course the Afrobeat king himself Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. Has anyone noticed that a lot of old Fela stuff (Koola Lobitos, etc) seem to surface in Japan? I wondered why this Japanese man would have such an interest in African music and would have taken such pains to document it. It appeared he actually had the vinyl originals of some of the great work put out by african artists in the 50's, 60's, and 70's. One cannot begin to put a figure on the worth of such a collection. Whatever his motives I was glad to find that somebody had some form of coherent documentation of the works of these African sons and daughters and promptly emailed him to thank him for taking the pains to do what he did ( I think I thanked him, I did ask if he could help me with my current search). I must point out that I didn't find a song titled 'Aiye le' by Sunny Ade. Perhaps this was not the title of the song. I proceeded to quiz everyone I knew. Everyone seemed to know the song, no one seemed to know the title not even Princess save a very very indigenous friend who told me emphatically that Sunny Ade had no such recording, I.K. Dairo did though. Could there be a repository for the lyrics of african songs? Perhaps Yoruba Google would be able to help out ... nothing. I did confirm that I.K. Dairo recorded a song titled 'Aiye le ore mi'. I have spent way too much time by now searching for this song so I put my search on hold and try and get some work done. I resumed my search when I got home, still no luck. Shebi I heard the song played at a Starbucks store. I am sure they will have a song list or something. Yeah I am thinking they will so I put all thoughts of Sunny Ade out of my mind and settle down to watch Idol (go Melinda go!!!!). Today I stopped at the Starbucks store and asked about the music selection of the day before, 'Oh we played a reggae selection cd yesterday' No you didn't I say to myself. 'Really? I was in between 9 and 9:30 am yesterday' I replied. 'Hang on let me get the list of stuff we played yesterday' she replied. The girl no lie, the list was titled 'Reggae Selections' and there it was, 'King Sunny Ade - Penkele' atleast they got the name right. How can you hear this music and classify it as reggae? I returned the list to her and informed her that King Sunny Ade was actually not a reggae musician, he is from Nigeria and his music is classified as Juju. She gave me a preoccupied smile, why am I worrying myself sef, she probably thinks Nigeria is just down the road! Finally! Phew. I can rest now I feel like a load has been lifted off my shoulders.

FYI - 'Penkele' is a track off the 'Synchro System' Album released on the Mango Records label ( a subsidiary of Island Records) in 1983. It was the 2nd of the 3 albums Sunny Ade would release on the label. (The first was 'Ja Funmi' in '82 the third was 'Aura' in '84). According to the discography on Toshiya's site the song was also included on the b-side of 'Ajoo' also released in 1983 as well as the cd titled 'The land of Carthage' released on the label Dynamite in 1994

Dissapointed!

2007-04-17T10:44:00.000-07:00

Raphael is not at work today! Imagine that after I was all pumped about saying hi and calling him by name! I am all of a sudden not hungry.

Massacre at Virgina Tech

2007-04-17T09:51:00.000-07:00

Along with everyone else I was shocked and horrified to learn of the shootings at the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg yesterday. I heard earlier on in the day on the radio that the shooter was apparentaly motivated by a fight with his girlfriend to kill 32 people and take his own life. A Yoruba prayer immediately came to mind:

Olorun ma jen rin irin arin fesesi (God, don't let my feet lead me into
trouble)

A friend and I were discussing the whole unfortunate incident and she pointed out that some of the students probably spoke with their parents/loved ones minutes perhaps hours before they met with their demise. Normal conversations. I imagined a VTech student calling home, checking in with their parent:

Hello?
Darling! How are you?
I am fine, how are you guys doing?
Oh we are fine, how is school?
School is fine, I have class in 30 mins
just wanted to say hello.
Thanks dear, I hope all is well, no problems ..?
Yeah we really need to discuss my allowance! Just joking.
Laugh! You do
your best and study hard ok? I am very proud of you.
Awww! Thanks, gotta run
love you
Love you too
Click.

The parent would have gotten off the phone happy to know their child was doing well and all was okay. The chile would have hauled their behind over to class, knowing this was the right thing to do, knowing they were in the right place at the right time. Go to class get that credit, get that degree. Perhaps for the students who lost their lives with hindsight we see that they would have been better off cutting classes yesterday. Hmmm ... How will that parent who spoke with their child a couple of mins/hours have felt when they turn on the news and hear of what happened on the school campus in the 7 and 9 am hours? How would they have felt when they learn later after trying frantically to reach their child that they are not picking up their cellphone because they are dead? People don't die 'doing the right thing' they don't die going about their business! Increasingly we learn that they can and that they do. Oluwa ma jen rin irin arin fesesi. My heart goes out to the families and the friends of the departed including the gunman.

I worry. I worry that at the rate at which we seem to be assimilating american culture its only a matter of time before sensless killings in Nigeria are not just the result of a N20 bribe at the illegal road block in Agege.

S.Korean student blamed for shooting rampage reuters.com

Raphael!

2007-04-16T12:50:00.000-07:00

His name is Raphael!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For those who might be wondering 'who'?, see my previous posts (On Lunch, Lunch ... Update).

I didn't ask him though, I asked the lady behind the till. I intend to 'suprise' him with this information tomorrow.

Outrage!

2007-04-13T16:55:00.000-07:00

I am quite upset. I heard B.u.d.d.y (why does it seem like everyone is setting their spelling lessons to music these days ...) a track from Musiq's new album Luvanmusiq and fell in love with it immediately specifically the drum/violin intro ala Soul II Soul's 'Back to Life'. I bought the track off iTunes and over the weekend purchased the full album from Best Buy (yeah not content with the deal I got on my HTS I had to throw money away somewhere in my defense the album is not yet available on bmg). When I listened to the cd, something just didn't seem right with my jam (B.u.d.d.y) the intro which I loved seemed ... short. How long can a song intro be when its not that K.C and JoJo song ... I am thinking perhaps all these years poking stuff up my ears combined with listening to 'Pump de jam' at full blast on my iPod in the gym is finally catching up on me. I pushed my confusion to the middle of my head (this is where things I plan to resolve) and moved on. Yesterday I ripped the album to my laptop for onward transfer to my iPod and all my peeps via MSN Folder Sharing. Again I was listening to my jam and since my earlier confusion was in the middle not the back of my head, I just couldn't shake the feeling that the intro was all wrong. So I play the copy I bought of iTunes then the copy off my cd in quick succession to compare and banish this niggling forever. O yes, my ears will probably fail me but it would be sometime in the future; the intro on the iTunes copy is 11 secs longer than the intro on the cd version! Imagine that! As if that was not criminal enough, the album on iTunes has 2, TWO bonus tracks which my 'hard copy' album is missing!!!!!!!!!!!!! and the iTunes album is cheaper (even after adding the tax) and I still get the coveted liner notes albeit in digital form. I am soo angry if no be say I don open de cd, I for just return am. This is the reason why people will not stop Kazaaing, and limewiring, etc etc. Be consistent please, spreading the 16 tracks on an artists album over different media doesn't mean you will make more money, with fans scambling to acquire the full release by buying the album on the different media, you are just justifying illegal sharing of files and making it easy for the rest of us to cross over to the 'darkside'.

Lunch ... Update

2007-04-13T14:27:00.000-07:00

So I march into the deli determined to get his name. He is not there! The other guy takes my order and as he puts the bread in the toaster he appears. I say hello, he smiles with his twinkling eyes. I lower my eyes to hide the dissapointment I am feeling at the fact that he isn't making my lunch. The guy asks 'mayo and mustard?' 'Just mayo please extra extra easy' I reply dragging my eyes from the bag of chips I had been furiously concentrating on. I hear him mumur something in spanish as he shoos the guy away and takes over. Damn you mochafella! I can feel a stupid smile tugging at the corner of my mouth. Once again he turns over my lovingly prepared lunch with a twinkle in his eye, a smile on his lips and an admonission to have a nice weekend. I smile my thanks and added a 'right back atcha' as I move over to the cashier to pay. I exit the deli and I still don't know if his name is Eduardo or Juan.

CBS Radio Fires Host Don Imus

2007-04-12T15:05:00.000-07:00

So, CBS followed in the footsteps of MSNBC and fired Imus. I guess the plan is to lay low for a couple of years (although he is 66 he stills has those left in him) and then before you know it he has a show on satellite radio and continues to shock jock on into the blue yonder.

CBS Radio Fires Host Don Imus washingtonpost.com

On Lunch ...

2007-04-12T14:08:00.000-07:00

Lunch for me is usually either pasta or homemade chinese (from home) or a turkey on wholewheat from the deli downstairs. I don't bring Nija stuff from home because I don't know if I can handle anybody squeezing their nose and asking me 'what is that?' in the lunch room. I fit commit murder! For like two weeks now I have been frequenting the deli (been too lazy to pack lunch) and although they have a huge variety of sandwiches I always order the same thing; turkey on toasted wholewheat with fruits on the side. I noticed that on Monday by the time it was my turn to order my sandwich was already half way through being prepared. On Tuesday I noticed that as I walked in the ... cook? who served me the day before reached for the wholewheat loaf and put 3 slices in the toaster. I decided not to say anything. I walked up and waited in front of the counter. 4 mins later he placed my sandwich on the shelf in front of me with a twinkle in his eye. I flashed him a 5000 megawatt smile and moved on to the cash register. Yesterday as I walked up, my usual ... sandwich maker? was serving someone else but he put his collegue through making my sandwich - extra extra easy on the mayo, no mustard, no pickles. I flashed him another megawatt smile still a twinkle no smile in response hmm ... Today my collegue brought bagels for breakfast so I was feeling perhaps I would just skip lunch then my yeye belly started growling like 20 mins ago so it was off to the deli. As usual my sandwich was 'lovingly' prepared and when I smiled my thanks I got a smile in return! I was so suprised by the smile I forgot to follow through with my initial plan to ask my personal sandwich maker his name! A well there is tomorrow!

The Brick Awards 2007

2007-04-12T11:49:00.000-07:00

The Today Show did a segment on The Brick Awards this morning which will be hosted by Leanne Rhimes and will be broadcast live on TV (tonight April 12th on CW) for the first time in its history. One of the 12 honorees is Kimmie Weeks, a 25yr old Liberian refugee currently residing in the US. He leads the Philadelphia based human rights organisation 'Youth Action International' and is being honored for his lifelong work rebuilding communities through schools, playgrounds, and business opportunities for women and children in war-torn African countries. Well done brother.

kimmieweeks.com

Thanks

2007-04-10T10:42:00.000-07:00

My respect and love for Princess just keeps growing.

15 years ago I was convinced I was adopted and like most teenagers fantasized about being rescued by my birth mother. With hindsight my birth mother did rescue me, time and time again. I was so caught up in this fairytale world that only teenage hormones can conjure to realize it at the time but now that I am older I keep getting those ‘Eureka!’ moments which make me rush blubbering to call Princess my heart almost bursting with love apologising for being such an ass growing up and thanking her for ignoring me and being my parent. I had one such moment recently. I had a conversation with a relative who had recently graduated from university with a 3rd class and was facing the challenges of getting a job in Nija. I had spammed everyone I knew with copies of her resume knowing that it would be an uphill task getting any offers ergo her class of degree. As we talked I recalled my university days. In as much as my mum respected that I was an adult and that I could be trusted to get my behind through 5 yrs of Uni by not being all up in my business (pretending not to know about all the partying I was up to) she was far away yet close enough to keep an eye on me. Then she used to say she didn’t know anybody (except God) that she could push me on to when I graduated and needed a job so she really couldn’t afford to be napping while I was in Uni. For her it was imperative that I graduated with a marketable class of degree so that I have no further delay moving on to the next stage of my life. One or two close shaves and 8 yrs later I finally graduated and while the ink was still drying on my certificate I got a job and I didn’t even have a resume. A couple of months after that through a referral from a guy I had only met once I got another job in Lagos. By investing in The Guardian newspaper every Tuesday for like 6 months I got another offer even after a friend at the recruiting firm who placed the ad asked me not to bother turning in my resume because I didn’t have as much experience as the client requested. I spent a memorable 2 years at this job and moved on to my next job once again by a referral (recall the guy who I had met just once that referred me for a position early on in my career as a working adult? He came through again!) I spent 3 years at this job and it was from there I moved to the US. Looking back, not once did Princess have to go see Uncle Lagbaja or Aunty Tamedun to talk to someone to hire me. Indeed with each move I made I usually called her on the phone and informed her I was changing jobs. I have hardly ‘arrived’ but I am getting there and it is really great to be able to look back and say I am where I am today by merit, perseverance of a determined parent and grace, well mostly perseverance of a determined parent and grace.

This is not to say my relatives’ parent was napping all this time as I realized when I called Princess to thank her for not taking it ‘easy’ with me. She surprised me by thanking me for listening to her and for the most part (wink, wink) being an obedient child. Apparently its one thing to show a person the path to take, it’s a totally different thing for the person to follow said illuminated path. Word.

My poor calves

2007-04-09T09:56:00.000-07:00

My calves are killing me!

I think it is safe to say I have the skinniest legs in the whole universe, coupled with the fact that I am slightly knock-kneed, it is a wonder they can support me. I mean they are so skinny, my fingers actually touch when I grip my ankles! It would be nice to wear short-short skirts and shorts without having people comment on how skinny they are or marvel at how I keep from toppling over, but more importantly seeing as how I would like to be active and mobile for as long as I have the privilege to grace this planet with my wonderful presence its imperative I do smething about them oh there is also a history of athritis in my family. I am already working at strengthening my legs in general while taking it easy on my knees and last friday I started working my calves. I don't know if it was the combination of hamstring and calf exercises alone, or that as well as the fact that I spent an hour on the exercise bike Sunday morning but by Sunday afternoon I was in serious pain, so much pain I had to resort to crawling about my apartment! Who send me message o?! After a hot shower and a massage with good ol Robb, my left leg didn't hurt so much but my right leg no gree co-operate. I had to sleep with it curled up and I almost didn't go to work this morning. I woke and got out of bed only to go crashing down on the carpet in pain. Another very hot shower and massage again with good ol' Robb and I was okay. Of course I am wearing the flatest shoes I own and I do smell like my grandma and I think I see my colleagues eyes watering (as per all the fumes I must be emitting) but I am here and the pain is now a dull ache. I really should get my behind in the pool though, best excercise for a person in my condition (low impact on my leg joints) but working out with all those old people?!? So not cool.