tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276631112012-01-30T20:45:20.671-06:00Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.comBlogger3551100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-7049643069280538332011-09-26T16:34:00.001-05:002011-09-26T16:40:41.307-05:00

sad, beautiful, it made me cry....I often complain about the "NGO aesthetics" of what scholar Jane Bryce has called "donor films"--the sort of didactic "message oriented" films you see made on HIV prevention, VVF, and other social ills. I was speculating the other day, that the predominance of such films makes it very difficult to deal with serious issues like HIV in creative ways that don't turn

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-50464030705912225612011-08-17T16:50:00.000-05:002011-08-17T16:50:57.523-05:00

My current music video obsession. I think this may be one of the best Hausa-language music videos I have ever seen. The camera-work is great, and the story is well-told, and the rap beat is so catchy I have been listening to it non-stop since yesterday. Interestingly, this was apparently made in 2006 (which you can tell if you know the Kannywood stars featured--who have aged somewhat since the

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-20196106033931943192011-07-11T06:57:00.009-05:002011-07-11T14:12:58.906-05:00

One article submitted, on to the next.writing of the last article was aided by spartan sleep schedule. to bed at 8pm. arise at 2am to begin spinning out words.this weekend threw off the schedule, and late this morning, I sit on a painfully slow internet connection, listening to a playlist of bollywood soundtracks, hausa nanaye, and eminem.I have at least three more articles to write and a

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-16701471546615030072011-06-27T05:40:00.003-05:002011-06-27T05:55:40.631-05:00

blocked, blocked, blocked, blocked, got up at 5am to write. nepa went off just as i realized i hadn't boiled water for tea to wake me up. stared at my screen and dozed between words. finally curled up on the couch with my feet on two stacked bound volumes of newspapers and my head in the deep hole in my couch and slept off with my laptop blinking and purring beside me. (thank God for my

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-50558174502685676552011-06-12T22:16:00.003-05:002011-06-12T22:51:18.955-05:00

I spent more time than I really had this evening reading back over old blog posts from this blog. I miss it. I miss writing everything that I am thinking in diary fashion, a lot of which was boring but which sometimes turned up jewels of observation and description. I miss working through my thesis and my thoughts on this blog as if it were a workbook. I miss writing about random walks, the

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-59421042011530990742011-04-25T14:22:00.000-05:002011-04-25T14:22:46.789-05:00

Music video by Nas & Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley performing Patience. (C) 2010 Universal Republic Records, a division of UMG Recordings, Inc.speechless.... incredibly beautiful on multiple levels....

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-3319705697460338082011-04-17T07:12:00.000-05:002011-04-17T07:12:20.075-05:00

A song worth obsessing over. I've loved this Ice Prince song since I first heard it. An American journalist currently visiting Nigeria for the first time, just sent it to me again telling me how obsessed she was with the song. She also googled the lyrics, which can be read here. She was surprised (as I am) at the dismissive tone of a bjmighty on the nairaland thread who said "Just normal rhyming.

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-61517412305889952242011-03-20T03:38:00.005-05:002011-03-20T03:45:37.408-05:00

fire flared fierce, then flickered down to a warm steady flame, a light that glimmers through cracks in clay, feeds on air and dust, faith, hope, and love, when wick and wax is gone.

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-14016447341692838582011-02-11T21:28:00.001-06:002011-02-11T21:49:23.787-06:00

I should go to bed tonight, but I am obsessed with Egypt.Here is a video that has been going around: #Jan25 Egypt. On YouTube, the notes read:"Inspired by the resilience of Egyptian people during their recent uprising, several notable musicians from North America have teamed up to release a song of solidarity and empowerment. The track is fittingly titled “#Jan25″ as a reference to both the date

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-53653744551142389562010-10-30T04:32:00.001-05:002010-10-30T04:41:42.815-05:00

A few months ago, I posted Sazzy's video "Doubt" that was obsessing so much that I must have hit replay for at least two hours. He was no doubt one of the most talented of the up and coming musicians in Nigeria.Sazzy passed away on October 23, 2010. He had sickle cell anemia, but his friends point to the negligence of the doctor as a major contribution of his death.When I watched this final video

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-90576436320842889742010-10-18T19:55:00.003-05:002010-10-18T20:03:29.299-05:00

snake locked and stone eyed, she guards her lonely island. Stop your ears, escape with splintered oars. Her song is not for you.

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-84944967973784009462010-09-25T07:14:00.000-05:002010-09-25T07:14:42.105-05:00

I have been feeling a little homesick/nostalgic for Brooklyn recently, and this video, which I found when googling for "street medicine" after an inspiring meeting with street medicine pioneer Dr. Jim Withers yesterday (the public affairs section of the US embassy brought him to Nigeria to give several talks about his medical work with homeless populations in the US), hit the spot. The video

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-92179649627973303192010-08-01T05:26:00.000-05:002010-08-01T05:26:41.540-05:00

From Rabindranath Tagore's The Gardener61.Peace, my heart, let the time for the parting be sweet.Let it not be a death but completeness.Let love melt into memory and pain into songs.Let the flight through the sky end in the folding of the wings over the nest.Let the last touch of your hands be gentle like the flower of the night.Stand still, O Beautiful End, for a moment, and say your last words

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-22065252514915119002010-07-16T17:24:00.000-05:002010-07-16T17:24:02.404-05:00

I usually have a more ideological reason for liking music/music videos, but I after hitting replay on this one at least ten times, I'm posting this one because I find it very groovable. Enjoy. Sazzy's "Doubt"

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-43247682879390691102010-07-04T11:31:00.011-05:002010-09-07T14:00:57.170-05:00

Readers may remember my earlier posts on the Hausa hiphop artist Ziriums, who was interviewed on CNN, and who wrote the scathing song "Girgiza Kai," which was later banned by the Kano State Government.Now based in Abuja, Ziriums started out recording with Intersection's S. Solar and T-Rex in "Government Money" and also on a Yoye track (no video) "If you no Like My Music." Ziriums now has a hot

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-64505653891187262802010-07-02T16:42:00.005-05:002010-07-02T17:26:07.332-05:00

i have a conference paper to write but that must wait for this most important match. NEPA takes the light around 9:15pm. I search frantically for live streaming of the match, but it seems that world sports networks do not support Nigerian virtual spaces. ESPN says:"ESPN3.com is available at no charge to fans who receive their high-speed internet connection from an ESPN3.com affiliated internet

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-33818949646997124632010-06-28T14:15:00.003-05:002010-06-28T14:18:01.690-05:00

A youth peace rally is planned in Jos for Thursday, 1 July 2o1o, 10am. The rally will be held in the Jos Rwang Pam Stadium along Tafawa Balewa road. The rally anticipates between 20,000 and 40,000 participants.The organizers of the event, an NGO the Young Ambassadors for Community Peace and Interfaith Foundation, which includes a nearly equal representation of Christians and Muslims, has planned

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-14318331744736414762010-06-17T16:58:00.000-05:002010-06-17T16:58:28.502-05:00

I take a certain amount of aesthetic delight in posting this video by candlelight. Powerful new video from elDee...

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-65747286820606100732010-04-09T07:03:00.008-05:002010-04-10T07:49:25.753-05:00

This morning, I am obsessively grooving (can one obsessively groove?) to hot Naija musician M.I.'s Talk About It album. On the (next to) last track "Thank yous and ova ish," he gives a shout out to his Jos based "evangelist" parents with a sheepish admission that "yeah, I know I'm not doing gospel music, but, um, I'm still, this is my gospel. Let me preach it."His "gospel" includes fantastic

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-78174557031266386072010-03-24T16:49:00.001-05:002010-03-24T16:49:38.216-05:00

Striking new video from Sound Sultan, featuring M.I. A significant piece on multiple levels."I want to be like MosesShow my people dem to the promised land[....]Me I fear this government evilRise up NaijaRaise your hands farTell them you're tired of their evil"While the most obvious message of the video is ostensibly critiquing the government promise of electricity by 2010, the reference to "

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-16077248568592705072010-03-05T15:45:00.003-06:002010-03-05T15:59:11.831-06:00

Poems, that fill the moment, from this Sufi poetry site:Awakened by your love,I flicker like a candle's lighttryin to hold on in the dark.Yet, you spare me no blowsand keep asking,"Why do you complain?" Rumi - "Whispers of the Beloved" - Maryam Mafi & Azima Melita KolinLet sorrowful longing dwell in your heart,never give up, never losing hope.The Beloved says, "The broken ones are My

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-2039535128551616332010-03-05T03:11:00.001-06:002010-03-05T03:11:55.554-06:00

beautifu Hausa fim song (sorry, my keyboard is having probems with one key...guess which one....), featuring two popuar Hausa artists who have since passed on: Ahmad S. Nuhu and Hauwa A i Dodo.

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-4730958503813654422010-02-27T04:36:00.003-06:002010-02-27T04:40:56.358-06:00

Came across a short story by Helon Habila that I hadn't seen before this morning. Excrutiatingly beautiful. Excrutiatingly sad. Perfectly fits my state of mind right now. Exactly why Helon Habila is one of my favourite authors.You can find "The Immigrant" at African Writing Online.

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-82774979625564491322010-02-23T14:39:00.000-06:002010-02-23T14:40:34.855-06:00

Brothers, my peace is in my aloneness.My Beloved is alone with me there, always.I have found nothing in all the worldsThat could match His love,This love that harrows the sands of my desert.If I come to die of desireAnd my Beloved is still not satisfied,I would live in eternal despair.To abandon all that He has fashionedAnd hold in the palm of my handCertain proof that He loves me---That is the

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-18956283841803826612010-02-19T16:52:00.004-06:002010-02-19T17:02:55.961-06:00

Today a carpenter came, built shelves and hung a rod for my wardrobe. I am finally organized--boxes and suitcases and ghana-must-go bags now neatly stacked in the wardrobe where I will no longer stumble over them in the night when I can't find my torchlight. In the afternoon, after washing clothes, I sit and read articles about ethno-religious violence. Agarbatti incense twines through the room,

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-67200693845146951142010-02-16T13:42:00.000-06:002010-02-16T13:45:10.734-06:00

Koko and kosai at Golden goose, then home in a dark taxi to a background of a crooning Bollywood track. I dream of years past, as a new moon floats faint above me

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-59745687250549072432010-01-26T20:13:00.001-06:002010-01-26T20:15:32.861-06:00

Talatu has dug through the many layers to the very beginning, has set aside those little treasures, the happy moments that were truly, truly hers, and lets the other things rest where they lay, to be covered again by the ever-blowing dust. Allah ya ba da zaman lafiya. Amin.

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-78205914797484677692010-01-23T13:39:00.004-06:002010-01-23T13:50:59.815-06:00

I read this passage this morning:""God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.We love

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-89990892493421241462010-01-19T04:18:00.005-06:002010-01-19T10:36:55.860-06:00

My dad calls me 5 minutes ago. He says "This thing has really exploded this morning. Much worse than last time. I have never heard so much gunfire in my life." "It's all retaliation," he says. "It could spill over anywhere. No one is targeting us, but you never know. Someone who has just lost someone is not in their right mind. Just stay home today."Every few seconds, he'd say "There's another

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-37639417413739027402010-01-18T19:09:00.009-06:002010-01-19T10:33:55.602-06:00

Yesterday, after being away from internet and television for about four days, I found myself in the parlour of the house where I was being hosted in Kaduna, watching CNN coverage of the continuing devastation in Haiti. I cried. I am not as jaded, perhaps, as I would have been had I been watching it nonstop for the last four days. I was not yet glutted on the tragedy-scoops. The horrors of the

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-18798375171534336882010-01-09T15:12:00.005-06:002010-01-10T09:19:47.463-06:00

I took the bicycle from a child. He was heading into our garage to put away the ancient, used bike I had bought almost nine years ago. It was a heavy, man’s bike with a rod across the front. The child looked worried when I took it from him at the door. “It’s my uncle’s own,” he said. “I’ll not take it far,” I said. “I used to ride this years ago.” I soon discovered that the hand brakes didn’t

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-11794774462234693932010-01-03T18:55:00.001-06:002010-01-03T18:55:13.485-06:00

As I lie awake with a fever, this song comes to me. The metaphoric zazzabi that turns out to be literal....

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-82271043081226350302009-12-18T04:03:00.001-06:002009-12-18T04:03:11.410-06:00

Dawo Dawo...Dawo gidaDon Allah sauke kayankaAi garinmu da zafibaka saba ba.... Dawo Dawo.

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-31520527666710885042009-12-16T12:21:00.004-06:002009-12-16T12:31:35.971-06:00

I have been on a book-buying binge the last few days, buying mostly books on Islam, including a Hausa/Arabic Qur'an. So, tonight, just as NEPA comes back, I crack open one of my most recent purchases, Stories of the Prophets by Imam Ibn Kathir and translated by Sheikh Muhammad Mustapha Gemeiah, office of the Grand Imam Sheikh Al-Azar. And this is what I read in the translator's note:"All those

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-52138258859111501192009-11-25T11:38:00.001-06:002009-11-25T11:38:50.460-06:00

Off the hook video from P-Square!

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-23336697769092370922009-11-16T21:43:00.003-06:002009-11-16T21:49:51.908-06:00

This is a series of readings I have done today, from first reading the chapters around yesterday’s Psalm (much needed reminder that sweet passionate David, the man “after God’s own heart” was as human and fallible as me)---then free associating as my memory leads to other sacred texts, hymns and prayers from the Anglican, Methodist, Catholic and Greek Orthodox tradition. In the middle, I re-read

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-31372106270165007242009-11-11T20:30:00.001-06:002009-11-11T20:30:19.181-06:00

And one more bit of fabulosity!! We are Africans, aaa-ooo!!

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-59252276492146899282009-11-11T20:05:00.001-06:002009-11-11T20:05:42.275-06:00

My current music video obsession--love the rhythm and flow of this... Up, up, J-town...

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-77939551161813045692009-11-03T23:17:00.003-06:002009-11-03T23:22:15.029-06:00

Last week I had the privilege to finally meet Helon Habila in person (at George Mason University), after many years of reading his work and communicating by email. He was a gracious host, and it was delightful to hear about his most recent projects. Tonight I came across this interview Mildred Kiconco Barya did with him back in May for Pambazuka News. Enjoy.

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-28344221522704341652009-11-03T11:45:00.001-06:002009-11-03T11:45:13.920-06:00

One of my favourite Hausa songs sung by Abdurrahmane Ayuba (Golden Goose) and used here in the film Hawayena directed by Mansoor Saddiq and produced by Tijjani Asase. A besotted Adam A. Zango gives the oblivious Kubra Dako his song of love to read...

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-23486465269367584602009-10-13T23:36:00.005-05:002009-10-14T00:30:23.944-05:00

October 5My sun is gone and I am cold and grayOctober 6And after the sun leaves, there are the long dark walks. The sharp wind carries away all thought, and I am cold and clean and empty.October 13I walk again in the dark--skin pricked with cold, yet I am warm. What is lost feels nearer than before, what is given up lingers in my smile, what I possess no more fills the cold night. Longing hushed,

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-47289761462256481152009-09-18T00:18:00.001-05:002009-09-18T00:18:13.825-05:00

The best thing I've found on You Tube in a long time.

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-2036218000148712262009-08-17T11:04:00.001-05:002009-08-17T11:04:24.972-05:00

From AFP News...

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-24157711851335827582009-07-01T11:24:00.004-05:002009-07-01T11:39:08.248-05:00

Today while reading a brand new and brilliant (though I'm sure it will be very controversial and hotly contested) book by Rudolf Pell Gaudio, Allah Made Us: Sexual Outlaws in an Islamic African City about 'yan daudu culture in Kano, I realized something about my language-use that I had never quite noticed before. So, I'm sure the following confession will make all of you Hausa-speakers snigger at

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-74614120118060929912009-06-24T10:36:00.001-05:002009-06-24T10:36:17.796-05:00

Thought this might be of interest to those Hausa-speakers that follow this blog...

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-68893921190320660742009-06-08T07:19:00.001-05:002009-06-08T12:09:17.751-05:00

And after a long hiatus on this blog, I have a very random question that has absolutely nothing to do with my normal posts, but occupied a good bit of my thoughts on a recent 3 hour road trip.I noticed all these ants crawling around on the dashboard of the car and on me. And I wondered... what happens to these ants when they get off at my destination? Do they just join other ant colonies? Or do

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-78307768470168661182009-05-24T09:52:00.003-05:002009-05-24T10:00:57.439-05:00

I don't want to write very much write now. I will probably write more privately and then share what I can publically later. But, just to let those of you who follow this blog know, my family and some friends were attacked by armed robbers last night around 9pm in my parent's house. We are all fine. They did not harm anyone physically except for my father whom they shot at from about 5 inches away

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-27788204196196186392009-05-18T18:56:00.004-05:002009-05-18T19:01:58.877-05:00

I found out yesterday that my buddy Mukoma wa Ngugi has been nominated and shortlisted for the Caine Prize for African Writing.  The winner will be announced on July 6, 2009. Past winners have included (oh yes) Helon Habila, Monica Arec de Nyeko, Binyavanga Wainaina, Leila Aboulela,Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor, S.A. Afolabi, and others. You can read Mukoma’s nominated short story “How Kamau wa Mwangi

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-62095711747203652842009-03-30T07:17:00.005-05:002009-03-30T07:29:42.790-05:00

One of my favourite authors on one of my favourite causes....

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-81036522918633148762009-03-20T09:57:00.005-05:002009-03-20T10:02:33.461-05:00

Sorry to everyone for having gone MIA on this blog. I've actually started another blog up on wordpress, which has been sucking all my attention away from this one. I still plan to keep this one active...For those in Jos, I just recieved the following announcement from Jos-ANAJOS REPERTORY THEATRE presents 5TH JOS FESTIVAL OF THEATRE

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-48805871395997538142009-02-16T07:44:00.004-06:002009-02-16T08:13:30.411-06:00

I sat down with Nazir Hausawa the other day, and we transcribed and translated his song "Girgiza Kai" ("Shake Your Head"), which has become somewhat of an industry anthem since he released it. The song was played on Freedom Radio for a few days before it was banned. It has since passed on blue tooth from phone to phone. It can be downloaded from his My Space page.There are a whole collection of

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-58658884835870494432009-01-26T06:43:00.003-06:002009-01-26T10:53:16.220-06:00

Today I arrived for Iyan-Tama's rescheduled appeal (readers will remember that it had been scheduled for Thursday but the chief justice suddenly had to travel--see two posts back) at 9:51am. The appeal was scheduled for 9:30am, so I was afraid I was late. I waited until 10:43am in the back of the court room with a few other journalists (lawyers at the front), for the chief justice to arrive.He

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-51815328002947905432009-01-23T10:31:00.007-06:002009-01-28T10:22:43.682-06:00

UPDATE 27 January 2008See the details of the attack on Iyan-Tama's family at Leadership and BBC.Sitting in an internet cafe, enjoying the non-stop Hausa musical selection coming from the administrator’s computer (including such banned hits as Maryam A. Baba’s “Rabo Rabo” and Nazifi Asenik’s “Dawo Dawo”) and listening to people snigger about them, I was writing my advisor an email, when I recieved

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-51441061108790957232009-01-22T06:26:00.010-06:002009-01-22T06:58:16.279-06:00

Just a quick post for "breaking news." I went at 9:30 am to High Court 1 at Audu Bako secretariate for Iyan-Tama's appeal case. I arrive and sit with Ahmad Alkanaway of the Centre for Hausa Cultural Studies, Sani Maikatanga of Fim Magazine, other reporters from Trust, Leadership, BBC, and elsewhere. After some time, we hear that apparently the Chief Justice, a politically appointed judge who was

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-91040721029206582652009-01-13T06:36:00.007-06:002009-01-14T07:13:59.795-06:00

So, in the latest Iyan-Tama news: yesterday, the high court struck out the appeal to bail Iyan-Tama because they were dissatisfied with the way it was prepared... I went to the case, but unfortunately went to the wrong location first and arrived 30 minutes late, just in time for the mass exodus of those there for the Iyan-Tama case from the court.And before I launch into my meditation on my visit

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-30951067426141082842009-01-06T12:08:00.009-06:002009-01-06T15:41:08.544-06:00

I have just found out via the Jos-ANA listserve that Nigerian novelist, playwright, and poet Elechi Amadi, probably most known for his novel The Concubine and prison diary Sunset in Biafra, was kidnapped by militants in the Niger Delta. The only article I have been able to find about it so far is on Bloomberg NewsFor more information about Elechi Amadi, see his website. (Note: the website does

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-70563633817446872832009-01-02T09:28:00.006-06:002009-01-02T12:33:43.141-06:00

I'm at a desperately slow internet cafe, so these links should serve as the text of this post. Hamisu Lamido Iyan Tama, award winning filmmaker and former gubanatorial candidate in Kano state, has been sentenced to 15 months in prison by a mobile court, for supposedly not registering with the Kano State Censorship Board.See the details on Abdulaziz Ahmad Abdulaziz's blog article (also published

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-68682004046852297672008-12-29T04:01:00.013-06:002008-12-30T01:37:29.205-06:00

I must admit I have recently been worried about what I can post on this blog. I am discovering more and more people who are following it (either the occasional drop-in or the avid “follower” who I assume gets an email when I make a new post), all of them from very different backgrounds. They say write for your audience, but I’ve got a funny audience. I’ve got Nigerians from the South and

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-42976649795620369402008-12-24T06:14:00.004-06:002008-12-24T06:44:55.103-06:00

From Jos, where people bend to pray in blackened churches and mosques, and where a few flowers have grown up since the Thursday after the crisis when the rain came to "wash the blood away," Merry Christmas.O Holy Night - Selah

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-57479970299351402122008-12-12T08:17:00.003-06:002008-12-12T08:46:04.389-06:00

I have put off writing this for so long—partially because I have not had a lot of internet access—that it will not have the freshness it would have had a few weeks ago, but let me muddle through. Rather than attempt a chronological journal of what happened during the Jos crisis 2008, I’ll rather give some context about what I was doing in Jos and a meditation on some of my experiences, the images

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-84793720152511557702008-12-01T06:28:00.004-06:002008-12-01T06:54:00.156-06:00

Yes.... I'm in Jos....I came to Jos after the curfew for the elections had been lifted at 4pm. I hadn't been planning to come but it was Thanksgiving, and I started feeling guilty about not going home for it, since my parents are in the country. So, I arrived in Jos around 6pm. The next morning at 6:30am, my dad told me to come to the window. "Do you hear the gunfire? This thing has started up

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-48839540978055323632008-11-13T09:24:00.003-06:002008-11-13T09:34:58.268-06:00

This is sort of old news by now, but i thought i should post the links anyway.At the end of October, Kaduna-based human rights organization Civics Rights Congress got involved in the Ibro case. And the November issue of Fim magazine publishes a hit list of film people most likely to be arrested in the upcoming months.... (Slightly ironic taken in context of other entertainment magazines, like

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-61942952554633499142008-11-12T09:09:00.003-06:002008-11-12T09:16:19.448-06:00

This is a few weeks old, but I was finally able to download it online. Here is a CNN feature on Hausa literature, with a brief statement by my friend Hausa novelist Sa'adatu Baba. It's thrilling to see Hausa writing featured on international news, but I wish the problems with censorship weren't simplified down to sound bites like "conflict with Muslim tradition." (It's also a bit funny to hear

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-67475998706757930872008-11-07T10:38:00.003-06:002008-11-07T10:58:10.937-06:00

CW... this one is for you... :-) To watch it on the Onion, see this link.

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-58974644609774728342008-11-06T10:58:00.002-06:002008-11-06T11:02:34.713-06:00

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-13526903430052794472008-11-03T04:42:00.002-06:002008-11-03T04:51:53.911-06:00

Coming back from the Association of Nigerian Authors convention, hosted in Gusau, Zamfara State (which I'll try to write more on later), I lost my handset, which was subsequently stolen in the process of me trying to find it....So, for those of you who read this blog and know I have your number, could you send me an email with your number? Alternatively, you can try texting or phoning me in about

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-14483724720418949662008-10-29T12:46:00.003-05:002008-10-29T13:08:25.137-05:00

So, I'm running off to Zamfara state for an Association of Nigerian Authors convention this weekend and will likely miss all the election hype on blogs and television this weekend, sniff, sniff,but before I leave, just wanted to say...."Lets flip the track, bring the old school back...THIS IS HOW WE DO IT..."(absentee vote, baby)"all hands are in the a-a-i-r"

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-26476340464818398322008-10-23T12:48:00.004-05:002008-10-23T13:20:00.583-05:00

To the tune of "Yahoooozee, Yahoooozee..... "Have been working all bleeding day long on my funding application, which is getting steadily WORSE..., until my battery gave up the ghost and I had to come to a cafe.Have also been eating a nonsensical assortment of items while feverishly working against my battery dying, including: Ovaltine, cake, cabin biscuits, sardines, tea, leftover yoghurt, tea,

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-31427988656880100342008-10-22T09:27:00.004-05:002008-10-22T09:31:29.910-05:00

I just found out that there was a raid on Baba Karami's studio yesterday at around 3:30pm. Apparently the police were raiding all of the studios up and down Zoo Road. I had talked with him only a few hours before, before going to Miller Road for the court case hearing Ibro's appeal. I had been planning to go back by Zoo Road after the court case but because the court case had gotten started late

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-28809700188266011012008-10-21T12:31:00.003-05:002008-10-21T12:36:40.394-05:00

In other news, I attended Ibro's appeal to the High Court today. In the end, the court had to reconvene because of a technicality whereby the defence signed the name of the law firm rather than the name of an individual lawyer.I will post more on this if I can get internet tomorrow.But can I just add the perhaps irreverent observation that of all the carryover's of colonialism, the WIG in the

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-85516774842074315162008-10-21T11:04:00.005-05:002008-10-21T11:29:27.443-05:00

So this past Sunday, October 19, I bought a Sunday Leadership, and was having a jolly time catching up on the news when I was given a bit of a jolt. There on page 53 was my response to "The Most Gorgeous Nigerian Women" that I posted on this blog on October 5.Now I am pleased and flattered that my blog is being followed, and I'm happy to see my words in "print," but this is the second time in the

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-1297218051897188712008-10-20T10:55:00.002-05:002008-10-20T10:57:41.125-05:00

Beautiful poetry and incisive analysis on the upcoming presidential election by my friend Mukoma wa Ngugi here on BBC.

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-12931572360768748992008-10-17T11:58:00.005-05:002008-10-17T12:05:25.094-05:00

The latest on Ibro from state-owned Triumph:Phew....I feel reassured that this dangerous criminal will not be on the streets after he is released from the hospital!!!! (and if this is not obvious to anyone who might want to use this, as another ironic piece I have seen recently, for pro-govt propaganda, the above sentence is called IRONY or more strongly SARCASM....)http://

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-10566279344599603892008-10-13T08:14:00.005-05:002008-10-13T11:31:43.299-05:00

An excerpt from an editorial which talks about the arrest of 'dan Ibro in today's Leadership:Making A Scapegoat Of... Sa’idu Mohammed Sanusi[....]One doubts whether political abracadabra, bureaucratic gibberish, blabber of amateurish politicians, political mercenaries and hirelings could exonerate apparently brazen partisan actions from their basic nature, mere political brigandage or

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-84831001952044775942008-10-06T15:35:00.009-05:002008-10-13T08:12:04.748-05:00

Breaking News.Dazu, I recieved the following text:"Kano state censorship board arrest rabilu musa dan ibro and 3 other members of his group."Ibro is a Hausa comedian, and one of the biggest stars in the industry. People I know in Jos who don't watch Hausa films DO watch Ibro.So, I called the friend who sent me the text and this is the story I heard. Again, this is breaking news, so I might have

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-23230686783646531162008-10-05T10:51:00.011-05:002008-10-06T03:09:58.126-05:00

I will bracket the concern whether there should be these lists of people classified by their physical attractiveness at all (I admit I'm a sucker for People Magazine's the 50 Most Beautiful People), but let me speak to another concern. As I read through the "artville" section in today's Leadership "Most Gorgeous Nigerian Women" by Zully Abdul, I was struck by the fact that with the

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-31934981171233460082008-10-03T11:26:00.002-05:002008-10-03T11:28:57.933-05:00

A fantastic post by my friend Voz Nocturna expressing a manifesto for an "intellectual" Christianity.

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-52929985479825770222008-10-03T09:55:00.005-05:002008-10-03T10:13:56.298-05:00

I have just posted on my other "academic"/"literary" blog a paper and the handout (with pictures) that I presented at the African Studies Association in 2006, looking at representations of HIV/AIDS in Hausa novels and films. The film Hafsah directed and produced by Sani Mu'azu had not yet been released at that time, but I hope to add a section to the paper dealing with Hafsah.

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-65971925392934507782008-09-18T09:26:00.004-05:002008-09-18T10:02:48.681-05:00

Grateful to Ibrahim Sheme's blog for pointing out that Hausa film superstar Ali Nuhu has a new official website. Very impressive. Here's a good interview the Daily Trust did with Nuhu back in March, in which he talks about the censorship crisis. Photo Credit: Hausamovies.com (Much better pics on Ali Nuhu's site, but I couldn't link to them)

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-90355188793454479492008-09-15T07:36:00.006-05:002008-09-15T07:54:51.012-05:00

My friend, the Hausa novelist Sa'adatu Baba was recently interviewed on IPS news about the censorship crisis in Kano. See the interview here. A related article gives an overview of the crisis here. Here is a link to an article by Maryam Ali about the writing side of the censorship crisis, and a priceless piece by Malam Abubakar Rabo Abdulkarim himself.... There are more that I will try to add

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-34354339366217064532008-09-11T08:15:00.004-05:002008-09-11T08:25:53.124-05:00

Some encounters I’ve had this week:I meet a woman on the bus who tells me she was inspired to study special education from an Indian film she watched. She tells me the story—about a blind girl who was able to achieve great things from learning to read, and then she tells me about a blind professor she has at BUK, who asked how many of the students in the class would marry someone who is blind.

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-63530409383506700262008-09-09T04:13:00.005-05:002008-09-11T07:49:29.805-05:00

This is a summary/analysis I wrote up as a sample for a class I'm teaching. I'm a little uncomfortable with the 'judgmental' end, as I tend to like to just analyze and not 'review,' but I figured a practical componant might be good for the students, since many of them are hoping to become practitioners.Inda RankaProduced by Nura Hussani; Directed by Sulaiman Alubankudi(no date, purchased in 2008

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-61206063226159916222008-09-02T10:05:00.003-05:002008-09-02T10:14:46.485-05:00

written 1 September 20082 RamadanEver since I knew I was going to be in Kano for a year, I thought that I would try to fast during Ramadan. First, I thought it would not be appropriate to eat in front of other people who are fasting, even if it’s just sneaking a meatpie and sachet of water from the canteen to my office (although it may eventually come to that); second, I thought it would be good

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-90244935017680924442008-08-24T15:40:00.003-05:002008-08-24T15:48:32.634-05:00

CNN's Inside Africa featured my friend Ziriums (Nazir Hausawa) yesterday. At some point, I will try to put up part of my own interview with Nazir. In the meantime, here is his myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/ziriums

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-77828816200458683142008-08-24T01:51:00.003-05:002008-08-24T01:58:33.031-05:00

Louisiana, Christmas 2006. The last time I saw my grandfather. He spent a lot of time looking out the window into the light. I felt he was leaving us, even then. The funeral is on Wednesday. I wish I could go.

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-88022602814707606462008-08-20T06:29:00.005-05:002008-08-20T06:44:32.809-05:00

The issue of censorship in Kano is becoming more and more worrisome. Last week Ibrahim Sheme, editor of Leadership and publisher of Fim Magazine, published on his blog a very menacing text message that his publisher recieved from an unknown sender.I am very concerned. Also musing on how the language register of the text message, most often seen in playful abbreviated banter of friends can be used

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-70706068963925050872008-08-15T22:07:00.001-05:002008-08-15T22:07:08.808-05:00

"The Land is Green" or "Green Land" by TY Bello. Lovely....

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-2152781278329344682008-08-05T11:07:00.006-05:002008-08-05T11:27:02.256-05:00

Several weeks after I arrived back into Nigeria, I had the pleasure of attending a meeting of Jos ANA (Association of Nigerian Authors). I was quite involved with the Jos ANA chapter when I lived in Jos from 2001-2003, but the membership has almost completely changed. Nevertheless, I don’t know if I have attended another ANA meeting in which I have been so impressed by both the quality of the

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-46452339705113577522008-07-24T08:41:00.007-05:002008-09-18T10:42:10.235-05:00

Jiya, saurayina ya rabu da ni. Ba dad'i ba ne. Kuma, shekaran jiya, na rubuta waka 'din. My old poetry professor said there are some poems you need to write but should stay in your journal. This is probably one of them, but then.... that was in the days before blogs where things that should stay personal and melodramatic works in progress are displayed for a public to see.abbreviated:(for an

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-64236824107889826182008-07-15T08:31:00.003-05:002008-07-15T08:46:11.946-05:00

Dr. Yusuf Adamu, former chairman of Kano Association of Nigerian Authors does far more justice to the breaking news of the Kano State Censorship Board's latest war than I could, but I'll write more on this later. In the meantime, BBC reports that the hisbah's next target is the Sabon Gari.Image of Abubakar Rabo, Director General of the Kano State Censorship Boardcourtesy of BBC

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-10240946431393835642008-07-07T12:23:00.002-05:002008-07-07T12:27:44.625-05:00

(written Friday... now in an internet cafe singing along to Boyz 2 Men, "Now, we come to the end of theuh rooaad, still I caaaan't leet go-ooooo....") I got back to Kano from Jos yesterday to the news that I had taken the light with me. No PHCN/NEPA for five days straight. In Jos, it was off for at least three of those days. My father visited the local PHCN office to have a long detailed

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-76900397754890384802008-06-29T16:03:00.001-05:002008-06-29T16:06:38.394-05:00

We are drifting, my dear. It was to be expected. The Atlantic is a big ocean, as big as the sky, and time has many currents. Be well, love. You are in my prayers.

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-3776956196280725212008-06-26T09:19:00.003-05:002008-06-26T09:23:16.905-05:00

At the request of Nigeriandramaqueen, I hereby update my blog with this post that I wrote a few days ago but didn't feel quite satisfied with... Perhaps i will edit it later. There are moments that I love it here so much that I ache. Walking along the wall to the old city to the taxi stop, both the a man fingering his carbi and the old man in the sanitation uniform picking “pure water” bags from

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-55044761317755452572008-06-04T04:45:00.004-05:002008-06-04T05:00:18.332-05:00

and printing out my absentee ballot request.... Whooohooo!!!!The full text of his speech, which I forgot to get up in the middle of the night to listen to, here....Pictures courtesy of BBC

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-62395526204887924112008-05-20T17:06:00.003-05:002008-05-20T17:26:15.001-05:00

To my erstwhile readers who I'm sure have stopped checking this blog after my long absence,This is what has been going on in my life since I last posted:1) I defended my proposal and became a dissertator.2) I left the university town to stay with my grandmother, while I applied for my visa, bought my ticket, etc.3) I recieved the news that I did not recieve the big grant I had applied for last

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-63412705329535982322008-03-29T19:03:00.001-05:002008-03-29T19:03:39.445-05:00

In the vein of Eedris Abdulkareem's muckraking, yet entertaining, "Mr. Lecturer," Adam A. Zango critiques the elders for the problems of the youth... Why do the youth take drugs? Who is spoiling the young women? His response to the critique of the "big men" making the rules is that in fact it is they, the elderly and the powerful, who are the problem. I heard this sentiment over and over the last

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-76999538633404931842008-03-29T15:22:00.001-05:002008-03-29T15:22:16.912-05:00

Preparing for the defense of my dissertation proposal this coming Monday, I do a little "studying" on YouTube and find the video I have been looking for since last September. This, ladies and gentlemen, maza da mata, is the song Adam A. Zango was sent to prison for 6 months for.Apparently, the biggest problem (other than the vigorous dancing, occasionally glimpsed middriffs, and perhaps the

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-14594113812081274392008-03-27T01:30:00.001-05:002008-03-27T01:30:03.608-05:00

(Got this from Baratunde's blog)In 5 minutes Barack Obama lays down the main issues that differentiate him from Hillary Clinton. Beginning with a classy note of praise for Ms. Clinton's strengths, he thoughtfully but quickly makes a strong case for how his approach is superior to hers.

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-72698214619279273472008-03-18T23:34:00.006-05:002008-03-19T00:43:09.756-05:00

People,I'm sorry I have taken such a long break from blogging, and that I have blogged about pretty much nothing else but the American election process the past couple of months as I try to get this man, Barack Obama, who blows my educated cynicism to smithereens, elected.I was going to write about Dreams from My Father, which I finished on a plane to Atlanta last week, and how it made me hopeful

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27663111.post-64916002011558264352008-02-20T14:26:00.009-06:002008-02-20T16:10:39.339-06:00

Having moved out of my apartment last week, I check in to the blogworld from my "cage" in the library where I attempt to finish revisions on my dissertation proposal. Checking through my blog roll, I find a fascinating interview with Shehu Sani, the playwright whose play The Phantom Crescent is critical of the application of shari'a law in Northern Nigeria, on Sumaila Isah Umaisha's blog

Talatu-Carmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13402484991153486289noreply@blogger.com4