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Showing posts from April, 2009

Probeverbs - a probe into proverbs

I am due for a blog post and though I have some ideas coming up, I'll leave y'all with this poem titled 'Probeverbs' I wrote a long time ago. Probeverbs is a play on probing proverbs. Chaa. Proverbs are wise sayings alright but sometimes they can be questioned. I definitely questioned some and in this poem, I probe the sanity and sense in some proverbs. Don't know if you will all agree with these sentiments but hey, I sometimes live to challenge the status quo. Rebellion is sometimes fun. Here goes. Opinions are like noses Everybody has one Yet, each has its own smell A bird in hand Will fly away to the bush Because it is safe there He who laughs best Is really enjoying the show And will always laugh last When the cat is away The mouse will play Because it is his day A cat may look at a king If it is real hungry If not, the mouse is safe Dance like a butterfly Sting like a bee And end your life like a bee Speak up, be heard Speech is silvern, silence Not golden, it

NBA Awards 2008-2009 - I love this game

The NBA regular season ended on Wednesday and ze MIghTy African is going to chip in on the debate for various season-ending awards. I am also going to hand out a few awards that I have patented (in case, the folks at ESPN) are reading. Yes, Bill Simmons is my hero. Let's get into the awards already. Most Valuable Player (MVP) I think this year's MVP decision is the easiest as far as I can remember. Lebron James was the most dominant player in the league and his team had the best record. They had basically the same team with the addition of Mo Williams but Ben Wallace, Ilgauskas, Delonte West all missed time. The guy led his team in points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals. That takes the cake right there. Second on my ballot is Dwyane Wade, third is Dwight Howard, fourth is Kobe and fifth is a tie between Chauncey Billups and Chris Paul. Rookie of the Year This one is tough and though Russell Westbrook and OJ Mayo should get some credit, this one is between Stanford alum Br

Garnett out for the playoffs, my first-round NBA playoffs prediction

I woke up to news of Kevin Garnett missing the playoffs. Bummer. The Big Ticket to success for Boston Celtics is not going to be available and that pretty much ends their repeat aspirations. The Celtics have played well without KG but without him, even Jesus Shuttlesworth cannot save them, and that's the Truth. They'll give it a fight; the Ubuntu spirit, a defensive mentality, a big-time player like Paul Pierce, an assassin like Ray Allen and a supporting cast that has grown in stature will make the Celtics competitive. However, missing the defensive stalwart in KG, they may give up too many points to stand a chance winning against some of the best teams in the NBA. The NBA regular season ended yesterday and the playoff matchups are set. I've picked the Los Angeles Lakers to win this year, Phil Jackson to get ring #10 and for Kobe to win his first Finals' MVP. I thought the Cleveland Cavaliers would make the NBA Finals and with the Celtics down, we can pretty much penci

Coca-Cola comes with a Brrr!!! What we drink in Ghana

One of the most popular African commercials in recent years is the Coca-Cola Brr advert with the African king. Turns out the guy who plays this character is a famous Kenyan actor called Charles Bukeko. Charles is also in the only Kenyan movie I've seen so far, 'Malooned', he plays a lazy security guard. Are most security guards in Africa lazy? Do they come to work and sleep? Charles' character did. When he happened to be woken up by shouts of help, he dismissed them as 'demons'. It's tough not to like him for his famous shiver in the Coke advert though. There's nothing like a cold Coke. Especially in Ghana. You can see Charles Bukekeo in action here (First section) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCtjnfrZaEM Read an article about Charles here In Ghana, we call Coca-Cola Coke or Mineral. Why Mineral? Beats me. Maybe because it has a lot of minerals in there? No one knows what Pop or Soda is. And Pepsi is a form of Coke, if you ask an average Ghanaian. Fore

Africa is not a 'country', but a continent

My friend Oblayoo blogged recently about Annoying people who think Africa is a country . You have met some people like that haven't you? When I met a California bus driver who asked me a very ignorant question about Africa and Africans one summer, what did I do, I laughed. It was unbelievable. It's also unbelievable when you have an Archbishop of Ethiopia character in an American movie (shooter) and his name is Mutombo. I want to wag my finger at the producer of that movie at this moment. But this is the world we live in, and even America is not immune to ignorance about Africa. More often than not, Africa is branded as one country, one people with the same languages, problems, strengths, leaders, and food. Africans are not entirely happy with this, and they'll let you know. Just like I am about to tell you. Myth: Africa is a country with safaris, wild animals, with a president called Nelson Mandela and a language called Swahili. When you watch the Lion King, only Nelson Ma

First-rate hospitals and medical institutions in Ghana

When a female soldier in a Ghanaian movie (Scorned) was shot in the line of duty and taken to hospital, she wasn't taken to Korle Bu. She was taken to Lister Hospital , a modern healthcare facility in Accra, not very far from the Tetteh Quarshie Interchange. Lister's website says the Lister Hospital and Fertility Centre is the most technologically advanced private hospital in West Africa. From the movie and the susequent scenes in and around the hospital, it looks modern, clean and high-class. Basically, the healthcare costs there will be high. I wonder if the National Health Insurance Scheme would suffice for costs there. In the era, where countless government personalities have to fly abroad to get excellent medical care, it's refreshing to know about institutions like Lister Hospital, however small they are. There should be more Listers and the public health system should catch up with the needed state investment. How many world-class hospitals are in Ghana? Last time,

Winners of 2009 Africa Movie Academy Awards

I saw a Kenyan movie called Malooned a couple of weeks ago and I must say, I was impressed. Easter is coming up, but imagine you (guy) are in Kenya and you find yourself locked in a toilet in an office building - for a whole weekend (Easter Monday is a holiday too). You and this fine mrembo girl. *Smiles*. I want to see more African movies that are not from Francophone Africa, Nigeria or South Africa. Or Ghana. So recommend some. The winners of the UBA Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) 2009 are out. See the full list of nominees here . I know am blogging about African movies a lot, but am not done. I am going to watch Jerusalema, the much acclaimed South African movie, and a review would follow. The big winner at the 2009 AMAA was a Kenyan movie, the awards is really diversifying. Wanuri Kahiu's 'From a Whisper (Kenya)' picked up a number of awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay and two other awards. The Ghanaian reps, 'Agony of the Christ&