By Gigi on
Wednesday, 29 June 2011
So The Audacity of Hope plans it's trip to Gaza and the rest of the World watches coz we know they ain't goin' nowhere. They will be stopped, arrested, charged and their lives will change. Like sleepy zombie giants we will look, tut-tut and then go back to our very reliable wage slavery (which isn't quite as reliable as it once was - unless you're in Africa).
I applaud the efforts of anyone who stands up against oppression in all it's forms whether from an oppressive neighbor ...
By Gigi on
Tuesday, 28 June 2011
I like fast things. Do you? This has not been as quick a transition as I had hoped.
I have been working on migrating my blog and allowing myself to focus on all things African and African American. In spite of the conversation carried on last week about whether African Americans should in fact call themselves that, we are one people. There are Africans all over the World, yearning for the connection to Africa and other Africans and there are Africans yearning for the...
By Gigi on
Friday, 24 June 2011
Yes it is! And when you finally keel over, final breath breathed, final words gasped from ashy lips and rank breath, you'll stand up on the other side and wish you'd taken care of it sooner.Yes most beloved Missy E, I'm talking to you.image credit: adifansnetThe endocrine gland giving you a myriad of health problems is making your life miserable and while I know you are strong woman that can do it, you have money, great health insurance but REALLY SUCKY doctors. Fire...
By Gigi on
Friday, 24 June 2011
There is no doubt that Africans have continued the migration believed to have been started approximately 160,000 years ago. In almost every country you visit in the World, there are pockets of recent descendants of African people either taken there by slavery or migrated there themselves.image credit: McMarkLouwesMuch of the time Africans prefer to teach their traditions and cultures to their children so that it is not lost, but many children now being born on foreign...
By Gigi on
Friday, 24 June 2011
Ayaya!image credit: Dr.BacchusThere go the African politics we have all come to know and sigh at. We sit around in little pseudo-political science circles arguing moot points about the politicians that have been put in power and wring our hands in frustration. And yet when election day comes again, they'll frighten you with stories about homosexuals, abortions & feminism, tribalism and all manner of other non-issues so you'll vote them in again.Ugandan parliamentarians recently...
By Gigi on
Thursday, 23 June 2011
Wooo hooo!!In celebration news, Serena Williams had a 3-6 6-2 6-1 victory over Simona Halep today!image credit: Jet MagbanuaWe are used to the steely strength and calm that Serena plays with on the court, and after a particularly scary time with cutting her foot on glass and suffering with blood clots, it was nice to watch her win on Tuesday over Aravane Rezai.The powerful seventh seed is set to play against the 26th seed Maria Kirilenko in the next round. We're watching...
By Gigi on
Thursday, 23 June 2011
In the recent news, the international watchdog, Kimberly Process Certification Scheme (KPCS), responsible for making sure that blood diamonds do not get sold on any market - black or otherwise - has insisted that the diamond trade out of Zimbabwe must be examined to make sure everything is up to par.image credit: Vicious.-If you look down at your finger, whether you sport a wedding ring with diamonds or an engagement ring or an expensive piece of jewelry,...
By Gigi on
Thursday, 23 June 2011
On Saturday in Saudi Arabia, a 54 year old maid from Indonesia was beheaded for killing her employer. According to the news coming out of Jakarta, Ruyati binti Sapubi's employer had refused to allow her to leave to visit her family and had repeatedly abused her. Because she confessed to the crime, no trial was conducted, no lawyer was provided and her family was not informed of her imprisonment and death sentence until it had been carried out.image credit: ViofiddlerAlmost...
By Gigi on
Wednesday, 22 June 2011
Is it possible that levity can be found in a movie about slavery?Can the plot remain true to history and yet juxtapose comedic situations alongside the painful history?Even more importantly, can you draw African Americans, who according to recent "studies" are the greatest consumers of entertainment, to the theater to watch the movie?image creditA movie that is going to be released in France in July attempts to do that. Case Départ tells the stories of two brothers,...
By Gigi on
Tuesday, 21 June 2011
It is possible to think that everyone in the US understands each other when they speak. Those who live in the US or have visited know that the accents vary and slang varies too, according to the particular heritage of the person being spoken to. English has morphed to a unique form for American speakers and writers where words are spelled differently than they would be in the rest of the English speaking World. Although some like misunderestimate take the cake.No matter...
By Gigi on
Tuesday, 21 June 2011
A new program called New Media Entrepreneurship Accelerator Program has been started in order to advance the start-ups of minority owned and led technology companies.image credit: FreriekeThe program promises some pretty sweet deals for the start-ups including one-on-one mentorships, dinners with some of the most respected technology giants in Silicon Valley, and the chance to demonstrate the start-up, all opportunities to showcase it and attract...
By Gigi on
Monday, 20 June 2011
image credit: Dr. CaseIn a report released last week by the Global Commission on Drug Policy revealed something we've been suspecting for years;" we have lost the war on drugs"In 1971 the then President Nixon of the United States of America said that drug use was the number one enemy in the US and began one of the most intensive military interventions by the US and other allied countries to counteract the production, trade and proliferation of psychoactive drugs.This...
By Gigi on
Monday, 20 June 2011
I love my blog list. I have been able to find some jewels from around the World, putting the best of the internet into my RSS feed reader. This morning, one of the blogs I follow from Tunisia (thanking the Google geeks for Google Translate through Chrome), I came across this image.image credit: nawaat.orgIn recent history Tunisia is credited with the beginning of the Arab Spring, the series of protests by civilians to oust dictatorships that have stripped the countries...
By Gigi on
Sunday, 19 June 2011
image credit: commanderjaygoldYep!I am one of those annoying women who grew up with a two parent home (both mine and still together) whose father was loving and openly affectionate with my mother and doted on his children.He taught us to pray, gave us the courage to jump from buildings and trees, birthed a curiosity for African history, shielded us from those who wished us ill, fostered our creativity, filled in the gaps when our information was incomplete, and chats...
By Gigi on
Friday, 17 June 2011
image creditSt. Gregory's Catholic Science College has dominated cyberspace this morning coming under fire from the High Court in London for its discriminatory practices regarding the hairstyle of one young black boy who was denied admission.More often than their contemporaries of other races, black children are denied education in some colleges for whatever reason can be quickly used within the safety of school regulations, requirements and bylaws. This one, however...
By Gigi on
Friday, 17 June 2011
image credit: cambodia4kidsorgThis year, the National Geographic Annual Award is being given to Dr. Paula Kahumbu, an elephant conservationist in Kenya who has fought against poaching of elephants for their ivory in her country.Much of Africa's wealth lies within its hills and natural resources, including the richness of its wildlife. The elephant population on the continent was on a steady decline as the World demanded more and more ivory for ever cheaper prices and...
By Gigi on
Thursday, 16 June 2011
image credits: Guardian.co.ukThe winners of the Commonwealth Writer's Prize were announced earlier this week with Aminatta Forna rising to the top as one of the top two winners of this prize.Her book The Memory of Love was written to reflect a time in Sierra Leone, when the country was torn to shreds by a violent civil war in which her father was killed.Here is a short interview where she describes her work with Bola MosuroTypically, western audiences have enjoyed what...
By Gigi on
Thursday, 16 June 2011
image credits: ycanada_newsOne of my favorite movies is V for Vendetta written by the Wachowski siblings and released in 2006. It was about a much needed revolution, at some time in the future, from a tyrannical intolerant government that was brought about by the actions of one man who wore a Guy Fawkes mask. It resonated with my sense of justice and what is wrong with the World and what can be done to fix it.We have a modern 2011 Guy Fawkes. The...
By Gigi on
Thursday, 16 June 2011
Image Credit: AfricaGenderAward.orgLiberia!Say what?! Gender Award? What does that mean? Who represented their gender the best?I needed more information so I went hunting and this is what I found:Every year the PanAfrican Center for Gender, Peace and Development (PAC) gives an award to a government, private organization or civil society that shows outstanding achievement in "gender mainstreaming", which basically means they promote Women's participation in Africa.Some...
By Gigi on
Tuesday, 14 June 2011
image credit: Dushan & MiaeWeinergate, Clintongate, whatever.Why are we so obsessed with other people's sex life? Why is it important to us? Why do their morals come into question when we find that they have had sex with multiple partners?Enter the man who clearly wants out of his marriage so he can have dalliances with girls who have been marketed to him, he is considered more virile by his peers if he is known to have had sex with many young women. And...
By Gigi on
Monday, 13 June 2011
image credit: Willy_ochayausVS Naipaul, a winner of the Nobel prize in literature, stated last week that there was no woman he would consider his literary equal. Needless to say his comments did not go down very well with female writers the World over. He had some inflammatory remarks about the role of women in homes and their narrow and very emotional view of the World. Anyway, this post is not about him, but rather about a very interesting test that came out of it.You...
By Gigi on
Saturday, 11 June 2011
Image Credit: M.Leo_MLearning a new language is always a little daunting. Picking up that first book, trying to say the words without understanding their significance or even the proper pronunciation, having people from a country you visit scrunching up their faces wondering what the hell you just said, and you thought you said it beautifully!I have been trying my oh-so-feeble-hand at Arabic, mainly because I am fascinated by characters that are different from the traditional...
By Gigi on
Thursday, 9 June 2011
Image Credit: healthmankirklandLast year while scouring the internet for television programs to watch, after a dismal lineup by US networks, I happened upon a show, Masterchef Australia.They took amateur cooks from everywhere in the country and had a competition to see who would emerge as the best cook. Competitions like the mystery box where all the ingredients to be used are in a box, immunity pin challenge where the amateur cook would compete with a professional...
By Gigi on
Wednesday, 8 June 2011
Have you ever wondered what a book written in another language reads like? Have you been curious about the perspective of a particular culture without the veil of prejudice from an onlooker, whatever their prejudice may be?I have often been plagued with the knowledge that there may not be enough years in a human lifetime to learn enough languages to enjoy the stories from Africa and indeed the World. To gain sufficient proficiency to understand the complexity and subtle...
By Gigi on
Tuesday, 7 June 2011
Image Credit: InfoMofoLast year, when health challenges sprung up alongside the quick desire to be free of all GMO wheat substances, Qalil.com decided to go gluten free.If you have had the very uncomfortable feeling after you eat bread and end up feeling bloated and uncomfortable and probably even constipated, it may be necessary to ask your health practitioner if you may have gluten sensitivity.Part of the black experience for many African Americans and Africans is...
By Gigi on
Monday, 6 June 2011
Image Credits: Queen RolyChocolate.No. Seriously.Chocolate.I have a very passionate love affair with chocolate and any special person in my life understands that and accepts it for what it is.The desserts and sweets that can be made from are decadent, rich, sweet almost sinful. There is a chocolate cake recipe called "Better than Sex". Basically, it is generally agreed that chocolate is a versatile and delicious food group that can be used to create beautiful...
By Gigi on
Saturday, 4 June 2011
image creditIf you have ever had the experience of being in a major metropolitan city, I am sure that the experience of seeing a dirty plastic bag caught in the branches of a tree, hanging off an electric pole or flying leisurely through the air, has offended you as much as it should.Plastic has become one of the major hazzards to our ecosystem in this age and small steps are being taken by individuals and organizations to control the spread of the use of plastics.Leading...
Jailed!
Scared Straight
News! News!
Slavery is funny?
