is the focus of a new book exploring different approaches to making sense of conflict. It's actually a follow up to an earlier edition that came out in 2004 called 'hot spot horn of Africa'. I am particularly drawn to it because it is a compilation of academic peace studies and it analyses current violent conflicts on a local, regional, national and international as well as between societies. There is a lot of scope of debate and you can gain an insight into similar conflicts from different angles. I was discussing the book with one of the editors at English to Africa and I think some of the materials can inspire some really good features on radio. I'm on a brainstorming mission!
My amnesia prone/slightly bipolar uncle cracked me up earlier on. (Bless his soul) He has been visited by some 'out of this world' beings who've been cooking in his kitchen, making spicy food to be exact. (he insisted he actually heard them say 'have u added the basbaas and xawaaji?)!
He consulted with one of the 'highly respected sheikhs' of where he comes from who informed him the non-human population in America is actually much larger than human beings. They dwell the roads and invade our houses at night. My uncle goes "Aha, that is why there is so much traffic on the road at night! They must be driving since we humans are all asleep!"
P.S. What are the chances the sheikh himself is suffering from a similar condition as uncle?
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
clap your hands
Our Service has been praised! According to the analysts in charge of conducting the review, we produce programs that have 'technical, presentation and production excellence'! As much as I'm ecstatic with these results, I'm not sure if that would work in favour of the service, in fact I actually think it might have an adverse effect since there is only a handful of people that actually do the work and the rest tend to stick to what they're most brilliant at; 'making love' to the paper they read the news from!
On a more personal note, I'm reaching the end of my tether with the nosyness that goes on around here. I can't write my own friggin blog without 14 pairs of eyes staring over my shoulder. I fee like writing 'Go stare at your own screen nosy old cow' whilst they're reading my stuff!!!!
After that rant, I did a very interesting interview the other day with one of the Shabab people (unfortunately it wasn't used cos we got hold of a bigger dog). I asked him how much damage has Shabab endured during the recent violence. He goes none. "we haven't had any damage whatsoever"! So I asked him again hasn't anyone died or been injured or perhaps some of your houses have been damaged? He goes "No, there is nothing considered damage that happens to us." I paused for a minute and I realised if I wanted to get information out of these people, I had to speak their language. So I rephrased my question and asked: "How many mujahideen have died for the sake of Allah in the recent violence? (imisa mujjahidiin ayaa idinka shihiiddey?)" He replied " By Allah's grace fourteen so far, may Allah rest their souls in peace."
On a more personal note, I'm reaching the end of my tether with the nosyness that goes on around here. I can't write my own friggin blog without 14 pairs of eyes staring over my shoulder. I fee like writing 'Go stare at your own screen nosy old cow' whilst they're reading my stuff!!!!
After that rant, I did a very interesting interview the other day with one of the Shabab people (unfortunately it wasn't used cos we got hold of a bigger dog). I asked him how much damage has Shabab endured during the recent violence. He goes none. "we haven't had any damage whatsoever"! So I asked him again hasn't anyone died or been injured or perhaps some of your houses have been damaged? He goes "No, there is nothing considered damage that happens to us." I paused for a minute and I realised if I wanted to get information out of these people, I had to speak their language. So I rephrased my question and asked: "How many mujahideen have died for the sake of Allah in the recent violence? (imisa mujjahidiin ayaa idinka shihiiddey?)" He replied " By Allah's grace fourteen so far, may Allah rest their souls in peace."
Monday, May 18, 2009
news recap of the week
I enjoyed doing the recap of the news surrounding the African continent this week with colleague Douglas. It is yet again dominated by Somalia. If you have missed the news this week or wish to have a quick recap check out the link below.
http://www.voanews.com/english/africa/nightline.cfm
http://www.voanews.com/english/africa/nightline.cfm
a moment of laughter..
Earlier on I was listening to Inquiry, one of the programs on VOA English to Africa which I am a frequent guest on and we were discussing the wearing of miniskirts. A lady from Ghana was telling us about how the wearing of miniskirts is viewed upon there. She tells us they even have terms for it; Apush-keleke and jesus mindtrick! Apush-keleke refers to miniskirts and tight shorts (known to us as 'battyriders!') but it was juses mindtrick that made me laugh out loud. It refers to the long skirts that have the huge slit on both sides so it's basically saying that the skirt is playing tricks on jesus as it appears that the legs are covered, but really they're not. Having spent some time in Ghana I know that most Ghanaian people are churchgoers and therefore their culture and use of terminology is very much intertwined with Christianity. Mind you I doubt they would wear those skirts to church!
To hear the discussion in full check out http://www.voanews.com/english/africa/inquiry.cfm
To hear the discussion in full check out http://www.voanews.com/english/africa/inquiry.cfm
Saturday, May 16, 2009
clubbin scene is gettin too rough...
for my liking, that is. I just witnessed a woman climb on top of a man's back rough-ride him right down to the floor and they were both mahoosive! It was like watching live soft porn obesity style! I am no fan of a dry dancefloor but that just took things to a whole new level. To top it off I felt like I was stuck in the Stone Age as everyone seemed to be jammin with it!
I must admit though since I have become more familiar with the social scene of DC, life is somewhat sweeter than it already was. The metro (DC's tube) has become my best friend!
Prior to the club I went to an Ethiopian restaurant called Dukem on U street, where I had so much tibs I'm still full. The live entertainment was very enjoyable but a scene in the ladies' sort of caught me off guard. This lady came out of one of the cubicles ranting about their lack of space; "I'm telling you, these cubicles do not cater for us tall girls!" I nodded and gave a wry smile, thinking she's headed for the exit but the woman turns around, stands right in front of my face, swings her hair and goes "And you are too cute, my dear!" I had to stop and think for a moment, 'is she hitting on me?' I didn't know whether to smile or shout "and too straight!!" Needless to say I politely rushed to the exit.
So Mogadishu is burning left, right and centre, IDP's are on the increase and Al-Shabab is chopping limbs like they're having a feast. It seems the past 18 years haven't left any remorse within some of us. Instead we continue to shed our own blood.
How someone can rejoice in brutally killing their own people over and over again is simply beyond my comprehension.
I went to cover an event at the ICAR centre at George Mason university about the growth of Islamist militant groups a few days ago. Though the topic was a common ground discussion, it was refreshing to hear that some people shared my view that these Islamists groups do not understand democracy and peaceful negotiations. The only language they understand is an AK47 and therefore the only way to free Somalia is to use that language against them and wipe them off the grounds of our country. Earlier on today I spoke to a friend of mine whose cousin went to Baidoa a few weeks ago to visit his mother only to be slaughtered by the 'sheikhs' in control of the city. His crime was living in a western country.
Moving on I am looking forward to an entertaining weekend. Tomorrow I have a date with a gaming centre in Laurel, Maryland where I can exercise my bowling skills. Going to bootcamp first though as I've been given a bollocking earlier on by a gym buddy who 'hasn't seen me' for a while. Blame the news, I say.
I must admit though since I have become more familiar with the social scene of DC, life is somewhat sweeter than it already was. The metro (DC's tube) has become my best friend!
Prior to the club I went to an Ethiopian restaurant called Dukem on U street, where I had so much tibs I'm still full. The live entertainment was very enjoyable but a scene in the ladies' sort of caught me off guard. This lady came out of one of the cubicles ranting about their lack of space; "I'm telling you, these cubicles do not cater for us tall girls!" I nodded and gave a wry smile, thinking she's headed for the exit but the woman turns around, stands right in front of my face, swings her hair and goes "And you are too cute, my dear!" I had to stop and think for a moment, 'is she hitting on me?' I didn't know whether to smile or shout "and too straight!!" Needless to say I politely rushed to the exit.
So Mogadishu is burning left, right and centre, IDP's are on the increase and Al-Shabab is chopping limbs like they're having a feast. It seems the past 18 years haven't left any remorse within some of us. Instead we continue to shed our own blood.
How someone can rejoice in brutally killing their own people over and over again is simply beyond my comprehension.
I went to cover an event at the ICAR centre at George Mason university about the growth of Islamist militant groups a few days ago. Though the topic was a common ground discussion, it was refreshing to hear that some people shared my view that these Islamists groups do not understand democracy and peaceful negotiations. The only language they understand is an AK47 and therefore the only way to free Somalia is to use that language against them and wipe them off the grounds of our country. Earlier on today I spoke to a friend of mine whose cousin went to Baidoa a few weeks ago to visit his mother only to be slaughtered by the 'sheikhs' in control of the city. His crime was living in a western country.
Moving on I am looking forward to an entertaining weekend. Tomorrow I have a date with a gaming centre in Laurel, Maryland where I can exercise my bowling skills. Going to bootcamp first though as I've been given a bollocking earlier on by a gym buddy who 'hasn't seen me' for a while. Blame the news, I say.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
murses, moobs and mags
The distinction between men and women is getting narrower by the day. I walked in to our office today to find the security guys discussing designer mags also known as man-bags, their man-bags to be precise. They contemplated on which shape and colour suited them best and their preferred places to shop for mags. These are straight men by the way. I am seriously confused as to if I'm actually living in the right century or whether I got left behind. There is also an increasing number of men doing traditionally female roles and vise versa. My personal favourite is the murse, the male nurse (preferrably tall, dark and handsome!). Metrosexuality is on the up with straight men taking more space for their toiletries than their girlfriends and more brands coming out specifically aimed at metro-happy men.
With this in mind, though I'm not complaining, I can't help but wonder if the sexes continue to blend like this, will we be able to differentiate between one another in the future?
With this in mind, though I'm not complaining, I can't help but wonder if the sexes continue to blend like this, will we be able to differentiate between one another in the future?
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
roti, doubles and the sweet sound of chutney...
is what one's guaranteed to enjoy in Trinidad. Doubles and roti are sold on the side of almost every road so you'll never go hungry and chutney music is so chilled you'll never be stressed. In other words I had a great time in Trinidad. Getting there however was a mission and a half. My first flight from DC decided to leave without me, changed gates whilst I was sitting right there! I kept waiting for boarding time that never came. So they put me on the next available flight but that obviously made me miss my connection flight in Miami to Port of Spain. I had to wait an excruciatingly painful 10 hours for the next flight. Didn't check in to my hotel til midnight! Whilst at the airport breezing through my newly acquired state of boredom, I made the mistake of encouraging a conversation the ginger man next to me started about Mark Twain, the surrealism of satan's ideology and human inferiority. He must've been waiting to get that off his chest for decades! I felt my brain close shop almost immediately. So I made some sort of excuse to escape only to go to the boarding queue to find another weirdo, this time in the shape of the female species. This woman was queuing behind me and granted the line was slow moving, but she kept rubbing herself against me for what seemed like forever all happening whilst kissing her teeth and huffing and puffing! I move away for her to follow me, being uncomfortable would be a severe understatement!
I was relieved more than anything else once I got to the hotel. What I almost immediately observed was trinidadians' hospitality. People were so welcoming.
As the days went by Jen and I cruised the island's streets, restaurants, beaches, volcanoes and plantations. I noticed the vast diversity amongst Trini's. They are a blend of South Asians(mostly Indians), blacks and white dating back to integration that occured and continued since slavery days. Ironically some of them actually look like Somalis. What was interesting to see was that the further south you travelled, the darker the population became. Most of those that live in the south are primarily fishermen spending most of their time by the coast, which is where the sun is at its hottest. The nightlife was superb, far more chilled than the party scene in the UK or US. People would be limin' outside on the streets blazing music and having cool conversations. Nobody shows up to the club til after 1.30am. The only thing that was somewhat disappointing was folks standing on the corners of the dancefloor rather than dancing on the dancefloor. I was told it is 'a posing ting'. Interesting. Anyway all in all I had a blast, made some great friends and will definitely be going back.
Coming back to DC was hardly something to look forward to afterwards, especially since I came home at 1am only to be at work for 6am! It was good to be back in familiar surroundings though. I have a friendly stalker who works at the construction site in between my workplace and my apartment building. Everytime I come passed he would have something to entertain with ready, a hymn, a poem, a joke. lol As weird as he is, he does make me laugh. Americans are made up of all sorts of folks I suppose.
Speaking of weirdness the lift on my floor has taken a habit of opening its doors without being called for everytime I approach. I can't really complain but it freaks the living daylight out of me!
Moving along today at work was diversity day, celebrating the diversity among the VOA. Several keynote speakers such as the head of CNN and VOA were there as well as folklore dancing and cultural exhibitions. The head of CNN made a particularly interesting point, where she explained how language used can be a contributing factor to the lack of women in upper level positions. Ofcourse other contributing factors are lack of experience, qualifications etc but she said when women are given recommendations by their bosses, they are usually referred to as hardworking, loyal, dependable whereas men are portrayed as having leadership potential and managerial skills. Interesting food for thought.
She was followed by a Haitian man that played the flute whilst his story was narrated by a Mexican lady. He had the audience clapping and enjoying themselves until the narrator disclosed his passion for 'blonde women' upon which most of the audience walked out to the exhibitons instead. You guessed most of the audience were angry black women right lol!
The artefacts displayed at the exhibition were breathtaking, especially since they represented so many different parts of the world from Japan, China to Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America.
I was relieved more than anything else once I got to the hotel. What I almost immediately observed was trinidadians' hospitality. People were so welcoming.
As the days went by Jen and I cruised the island's streets, restaurants, beaches, volcanoes and plantations. I noticed the vast diversity amongst Trini's. They are a blend of South Asians(mostly Indians), blacks and white dating back to integration that occured and continued since slavery days. Ironically some of them actually look like Somalis. What was interesting to see was that the further south you travelled, the darker the population became. Most of those that live in the south are primarily fishermen spending most of their time by the coast, which is where the sun is at its hottest. The nightlife was superb, far more chilled than the party scene in the UK or US. People would be limin' outside on the streets blazing music and having cool conversations. Nobody shows up to the club til after 1.30am. The only thing that was somewhat disappointing was folks standing on the corners of the dancefloor rather than dancing on the dancefloor. I was told it is 'a posing ting'. Interesting. Anyway all in all I had a blast, made some great friends and will definitely be going back.
Coming back to DC was hardly something to look forward to afterwards, especially since I came home at 1am only to be at work for 6am! It was good to be back in familiar surroundings though. I have a friendly stalker who works at the construction site in between my workplace and my apartment building. Everytime I come passed he would have something to entertain with ready, a hymn, a poem, a joke. lol As weird as he is, he does make me laugh. Americans are made up of all sorts of folks I suppose.
Speaking of weirdness the lift on my floor has taken a habit of opening its doors without being called for everytime I approach. I can't really complain but it freaks the living daylight out of me!
Moving along today at work was diversity day, celebrating the diversity among the VOA. Several keynote speakers such as the head of CNN and VOA were there as well as folklore dancing and cultural exhibitions. The head of CNN made a particularly interesting point, where she explained how language used can be a contributing factor to the lack of women in upper level positions. Ofcourse other contributing factors are lack of experience, qualifications etc but she said when women are given recommendations by their bosses, they are usually referred to as hardworking, loyal, dependable whereas men are portrayed as having leadership potential and managerial skills. Interesting food for thought.
She was followed by a Haitian man that played the flute whilst his story was narrated by a Mexican lady. He had the audience clapping and enjoying themselves until the narrator disclosed his passion for 'blonde women' upon which most of the audience walked out to the exhibitons instead. You guessed most of the audience were angry black women right lol!
The artefacts displayed at the exhibition were breathtaking, especially since they represented so many different parts of the world from Japan, China to Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America.
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