The sign says is Swahili:

THIS WATER IS FREE

The Tap was opened/launched by the Kigogo Ward Councillor, M.H.R. Chengula

This was photographed in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania by Muhidini Issa Michuzi

In Africa villages were burned, its people were captured and then enslaved. In this case they were forced to work for the colonialists! Here is a photo of Nwembe Village in Kenya being burned! It was taken around 1915.

It pretty much represents how slaves were captured and shipped to new lands. Villages and crops were burned and those who could hid in the bush and often starved to death. Slavery was one of man's greatest atrocities.

A very interesting history of Tanzanians slave

Exodus of the Zigula (“Somali Bantu”) Max Dashu, Suppressed Histories Archives

Many scholars think that the ancestral Bantu cultures were matrilineal. Even today some cultures retain mother-right traditions, in the “matrilineal Bantu belt" of south-central Africa. (The term Bantu means, loosely "the people," like so many aboriginal names, putting a humanizing prefix before the being-radical Ntu; it long predates the racist usage of the apartheid government in South Africa.)

A little-known historical pocket from this cultural line was forcibly transported into northeastern Africa. Omani slave-traders based in the Sultanate of Zanzibar carried off people from Tanzania, Mozambique, and Malawi, and shipped many of them for sale in the slave markets of Somalia. Tens of thousands of these southern Africans ended up laboring on plantations in south Somalia.

The major groups are the Zigula (or Zigua) and Shanbara. Zigula oral history says they escaped slavery as a group and thus preserved their language. They scorn the Shanbara who no longer speak a Bantu language, only accented Somali.

This group claims descent from “five original brothers who belonged to east African groups such as the Yao, Makua, Nyasa, Nyamwesi and others.” [Declich: online] They became farmers of the Juba and Shebeli rivers in Somalia: Shabelle, Shidle, Makanne, Eyle, Elay Baydabo.

The great hero of Zigula oral history is Wanankhucha, a mganga diviner and prophetess. She organized the escape of large numbers of Zigula people from slavery and led them to freedom in the mid-1800s. They say that her visions and power as a diviner enabled her to guide her fleeing people out of danger. She is also credited with building unity of the emancipated people by “organising repeated performances of traditional Zigula songs.”

Their goal was to return to Tanzania, but Wanankhucha's group of refugees faced great dangers in their migration, including the possibility of being reenslaved on their way through Kenya. So they settled in the lower Juba valley in southern Somalia, after Wanankhucha decided that an earthquake there was a sign.

The so-called Bantu Somali were conquered by the Oromo and later by Somali pastoralists. Some Zigula farmers adopted pastoral people who intruded on their country, after a period of clashes. There were also foragers called Bon, and various low-caste groups, either despised professions or descendants of slaves. The slaves often lost their original family names, and were left with slaveholder’s names. The pattern was pastoralists styled as nobles, and farmers as slaves or ex-slaves, so that all farmers came to be considered “freed slaves.”

All the non-elite groups got lumped together as Bantu. Italian colonialists reinforced this categorization and deepened it by forced labor conscription to their plantations, such as the Bertello farming contract. They refused to accept ethnic distinctions, outside of “pure Somalis.” “You are all Mushunguli Mayasid (Bantu).” (from a word meaning Zigula person) The Italians enlisted Somali pastoralists to round up people from farming groups to perform forced labor.

Colonization was heaped upon colonization, because the Italians also used gender divisions to defuse “Bantu” men’s resistance to their own exploitation as members of oppressed ethnic groups. “Men to be conscripted into forced labor were given the right to choose any woman they wanted as a wife, without her consent or that of her relatives.”

These men were freed from the obligation to pay bridewealth for the non-consensual wives, and fathers were threatened with conscription, for themselves or their sons, unless they surrendered their daughters. This strategy seems to have been effective, since, as people from the Juba region told Francesca Declich, “without the company of a woman most young men would have run away from conscription.

In Tanzania, East Africa wearing khanga cloth is part of our culture. We have khangas celebrating every event. This is a speacial design created for President Bush's visit to Tanzania this month 2/08.

The President will be welcomed by multitudes of Tanzanian women wearing these.

Photo from Michuzi Blog

This is a common scene in Tanzania... a python crossing the road! Yes, I have seen several in the neighborhood that used to live in on the University of Dar es Salaam campus. One would come out of the bush eat a chicken then go back in the bush! Urg!

WHY?

Why do drugstores make the sick walk all the way to the back of the store to get their prescriptions while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front?

Why do people order double cheeseburgers, large fries, and a diet coke?

Why do banks leave both doors open and then chain the pens to the counters?

Why do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars in the driveway and put our useless junk in the garage?

Why do we buy hot dogs in packages of ten and buns in packages of eight?

Why do we use the word 'politics' to describe the process so well: 'Poli' in Latin meaning 'many' and 'tics' meaning 'bloodsucking creatures'?

Why do they have drive-up ATM machines with Braille lettering?

EVER WONDER .... Why the sun lightens our hair, but darkens our skin ?

Why women can't put on mascara with their mouth closed?

Why don't you ever see the headline 'Psychic Wins Lottery'?

Why is 'abbreviated' such a long word?

Why is it that doctors call what they do 'practice'?

Why is lemon juice made with artificial flavor, and dishwashing liquid made with real lemons?

Why is the person who invests all your money called a broker?

Why is the time of day with the slowest traffic called rush hour?

Why isn't there mouse-flavored cat food?

Why didn't Noah swat those two mosquitoes?

Why do they sterilize the needle for lethal injections?

You know that indestructible black box that is used on airplanes? Why don't they make the whole plane out of that stuff?!

Why don't sheep shrink when it rains?

Why are they called apartments when they are all stuck together?

If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?

If flying is so safe, why do they call the airport the terminal?

Now that you've smiled at least once, it's your turn to spread the stupidity and send this to someone you want to bring a smile to (maybe even a chuckle)...in other words, send it to everyone. We all need to smile every once in a while.

SUPERBOWL RIVALRY!

Will the New England Patriots crush the New York Giants in the Superbowl tomorrow? We shall see.

Kelly Telighman should be Disciplined!

I don't know if I agree with Rev. Al Sharpton's call for Golf Channel lady, Kelly Tilghman to be fired, but I definitely believe she should be disciplined. The Golf Channel has suspended her for two weeks.

Kelly Tilghman is a play-by-play announcer for The Golf Channel. She has apologized for her on-air remark during last week's Mercedes Championship PGA tour event in which she said today’s young players should “lynch Tiger Woods in a back alley.”

If she just said the word lynched, maybe she could be forgiven for not understanding its meaning. But she said specifically that Tiger should be taken to a back alley and lynched. She knew what she was talking about and that is unacceptable.

Remember Don Imus called the Rutgers Basketball Team,"Nappy Headed Ho's" and got fired!

Yes, that is a severe insult in the black community and its roots go back to slavery.

Thousands upon thousands of blacks have been lynched over the years in the USA. They have been lynched for being sucessful, educated, looking at a white woman, not getting off the sidewalk to let a white person pass, talking up to a white person etc. Just browse the internet and you will see and read what lynching is.

Tiger Woods says that he is not offended. Well he is welathy and probably hasn't endured the sever racism that other blacks have. Also maybe because of his mixed heritage he feels that he would not be lynched anyway. But in the America we know, he is still a black man and should be offended.

I hope that Kelly Tilghman will educate herself on black history during the time she has off from her job. She can watch ROOTS, Mandingo, the Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, Aftershock Beyond the Civil War and other films. Then seen if she can bring herself to make such a comment again.

For more information read:

http://www.transworldnews.com/NewsStory.aspx?id=32622&cat=6\

http://www.diversityinc.com/public/2912.cfm

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/01/10/tilghman.woods/?iref=mpstoryview

The Actors' Prayer

by Richard Bischoff

Oh Great Director-in-the-Sky

Do you ever look down and wonder why?

I flip them burgers night and day;

Sell appliances to make ends meet;

Hand out flyers on the street.

Help my dream come to fruition;

Let me win just one audition!

It doesn't have to be for major bucks;

But hey God, sometimes, my life sucks!

Residuals sure would mean a lot;

I'd pay back all these bill's I've got,

Buy human food instead of Spam,

Buy new clothes instead of second hand.

I'm not looking for mass adoration;

Just a little less humiliation.

And a new set of headshots so I don't look so fat...

Oh and by the way:

Would you like fries with that?

There is a new film version of

A RAISIN IN THE SUN

coming to ABC soon!

http://www.sonypictures.com/tv/araisininthesun/?hs308=email

This is a legendary love story:

Harry Tyson Moore and Harriette Simms Moore

Harry and Harriette Moore are a relatively unknown yet pioneering couple that helped pave the way for the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

The two met in 1925 while Harry, 20, was teaching elementary school in Cocoa, Florida, and Harriette, 23, formerly a teacher herself, was selling insurance. The two quickly fell in love and were married within a year.

Both strong-willed and compassionate people, the Moores raised a family (they had two daughters) while organizing the first Brevard County Chapter of the NAACP in 1934, championing such causes as equal pay for black teachers. With the support of legendary African-American attorney Thurgood Marshall, the Moore couple became key allies in the movement.
By 1941, Harry was the president of the Florida chapter of the NAACP, and his new level of activism took him into the dangerous arena of lynchings and police brutality.

At first, Harry's involvement was confined to letters to government officials, but he quickly began launching his own investigations. Many believed this is what precipitated the attack in 1951 on Christmas Day -- also the Moores' 25th anniversary -- when a bomb exploded in their bedroom.

Harry died before he reached the hospital; Harriette passed away nine days later from her injuries. Though authorities believe that the Ku Klux Klan was involved, the murders have never been solved.

For more great historical love stories visit:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/LIVING/personal/12/03/great.love.affairs/index.html

"Peace will come and be with you always."
--Joseph Rael, 2007

You are invited to participate in a small act that will have an enormous effect in moving the world toward peace.

Beloved Native American visionary Joseph Rael (Beautiful Painted Arrow) has created a peace blessing and asked that it be shared with people all over the world. Joseph created this blessing -- a Song of Peace -- to bring inner harmony and serenity to every individual who listens to it, knowing that the vibrations of peace radiating from many individuals will inevitably spread to bring peace and harmony to the whole planet.

Please listen to Joseph's Song of Peace at this link http://www.josephrael.com/peace.htm and also forward this email to your circle of family and friends.

A number of us plan to listen to Joseph's peace song every day between now and the Winter Solstice, December 22, 2007. You are invited to join us! This small act really can change the world, just as a little stone dropped in a pond creates ripples that eventually spread through the water touching every part of the shore.

In keeping with one of Joseph’s long standing traditions, we will be lighting candles and bonfires for peace on the 7th day of every month, beginning this month. We’ll also update you with new messages from Joseph on the 7th of each month. If you would like to receive these messages, reply to the Song of Peace list-keeper at peace@counciloakbooks.com
May peace come and be with you always!

For more information about Joseph Rael (Beautiful Painted Arrow), go to http://www.josephrael.org

In & Out of Time

A Poem by Maya Angelou

The sun has come.
The mist has gone.
We see in the distance...
our long way home.
I was always yours to have.
You were always mine.
We have loved each other in and out of time.
When the first stone looked up at the blazing sun
and the first tree struggled up from the forest floor
I had always loved you more.
You freed your braids...
gave your hair to the breeze.
It hummed like a hive of honey bees.
I reached in the mass for the sweet honey comb there....
Mmmm...God how I love your hair.
You saw me bludgeoned by circumstance.
Lost, injured, hurt by chance.
I screamed to the heavens....loudly screamed....
Trying to change our nightmares to dreams...
The sun has come.
The mist has gone.
We see in the distance our long way home.
I was always yours to have.
You were always mine.
We have loved each other in and out
in and out
in and out
of time.

TRAILER FOR BONGOLAND II

A new film by Josiah Kibira, called Bongoland II will be coming out soon.

Please visit Kibira Films website for more information:

http://www.kibirafilms.com/index.html

EID MUBARAK

On these nights when prayers are accepted without any doubt, I wanted Allah to bless you and so I prayed for all of you and beg that if you remember than you will pray for me and my dear ones.

Each and everyone one of us are going through tough times right now, but Allah is getting ready to bless you in a way that only He can. Keep the faith. Dua is one of the best gifts we receive. There is no cost but a lot of rewards. Let's continue to make dua for one another.

I pray to Allah: Allah (S.W.T) , I ask You to bless my friends, relatives and those that I care deeply for, who are reading this right now. Show them Your love and power in this holy month of Ramadaan. Where there is pain, give them Your peace and mercy. Where there is self-doubt, release a renewed confidence through Your grace. Where there is need, I ask you to fulfill their needs. Bless their homes, families, finances, their goings and their comings. And most of all make it easy for them in this month of fasting.

EID MUBARAK

First memorial to black victims of Nazi genocide

Michael Leidig in Vienna
Sunday September 16, 2007
The Observer

In the vast, agonising mosaic of the Holocaust, Mahjub bin Adam Mohamed was simply one more piece, one of millions of the Nazis' victims lost to obscurity without a funeral or a grave.

Now bin Adam is to make history in Germany by becoming the first black person to be given a memorial in his adopted country as an individual victim of the genocide of the Third Reich. A Stolperstein - a bronze 'stumbling block' - will be erected on the ground outside the house in Berlin where he lived.

The memorial will be placed so that pedestrians have to step around it, and its aim is to stop future generations from thinking of the Holocaust in terms of anonymous, faceless numbers. Until now the markers have been almost exclusively established at Jewish homes, but bin Adam's Stolperstein will serve as a reminder of other minorities, the black people, the disabled, homosexuals, gypsies, communists, political dissenters and Jehovah's Witnesses, who were also murdered under Hitler's regime.

The Stolperstein is a project conceived by Cologne-based artist Gunter Demnig. He plans to create a total of 12,000 markers outside houses, giving the name of the person or persons who lived there and the date on which they were taken to a concentration camp. Munich is the only city to have so far refused to have the markers, saying that they would encourage anti-Semitism.

Bin Adam, who was born in Tanzania, joined the then colonial German East Africa services when he was 10 years old and served with the army. He emigrated to Berlin in 1929, where he immediately got into trouble with the authorities by walking into the Foreign Ministry and demanding his outstanding service pay.

Although his request was refused, he decided to stay, working as a waiter in hotels and taking small parts in films. He had roles in more than 20 movies with stars such as Zarah Leander, Hans Albers and Willy Birgel, even after the war broke out. He also taught Swahili at the Oriental Workshop.

He married a German woman, Maria Schwander, and they had three children - Adam, Annemarie and Bodo - but his family struggled to make ends meet because of his excesses, which included numerous affairs that resulted in several illegitimate children. He was still in dispute with the authorities over money for his time in the armed forces when he was arrested in 1941, charged with the crime of 'miscegenation' - racial intermarriage - and taken to Sachsenhausen concentration camp, where he died in November 1944.

The plaque, which will stand outside his former home on Brunnenstrasse in Berlin's Mitte district, comes with the release of a book about him, Truthful Till Death, by Marianne Bechhaus-Gerst. The book focuses attention on the persecution of black people under the Third Reich, which included forced sterilisation and, ultimately, extermination.

By the start of the 20th century, Germany had extensive colonies in Africa and it is often claimed that German doctors carried out genetic experiments on East Africans. After the First World War, France occupied the German Rhineland, deploying colonial African soldiers as the occupying force. The result was hundreds of children born to German women by African soldiers who then became a target for Hitler. In Mein Kampf, he referred to them as 'Rhineland Bastards'.

By 1937, every identified mixed-race child in the Rhineland had been forcibly sterilised, often without anaesthetic. By the outbreak of war most black people had fled. The few who remained were exterminated.

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,2170159,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=12

I received this via e-mail:

Even Dogs Pray.

If a dog has time to pray what is wrong with us?

100 Ways To Be Happy

1. Never put yourself last.
2. Always own a pair of old, faded jeans.
3. Count your blessings every day.
4. When you extend a helping hand to one person, be careful not to kick someone else in the teeth.
5. Acknowledge your successes along with your downfalls.
6. Burn the candle that has been in storage for the last two years.
7. Strive for progress, not perfection.
8. Remember, the voice telling you that you cannot do something is always lying.
9. At least once a day sit and do nothing.
10. Don't close your heart so tightly against life's pain that you shut out life's blessings.
11. Celebrate all your birthdays no matter how old you get.
12. Examine your life for limitations and ask yourself why you put them there.
13. Plant a tree, pull weeds, or get your hands dirty.
14. Diminish your wants instead of increasing your needs.
15. Cry when you feel like it.
16. Rejoice in other people's triumphs.
17. Don't wait for someone else to laugh or express joy.
18. Forgive yourself for any mistake you make, no matter how big or small.
19. Keep good company.
20. Never take a pill for a pain you need to feel.
21. Use your enthusiasm to put yourself in forward gear and give yourself a spark to move ahead.
22. Look in the eyes of the ones you love when you are talking to them.
23. Remember that one is a whole number.
24. Walk in a summer rain shower without an umbrella.
25. Do a kind deed for someone else.
26. Keep your eyes and ears open to get the messages you need from people and events in your daily life.
27. Be patient.
28. Eat something green.
29. Change what you can and leave the rest alone.
30. Walk hand and hand with truth.
31. Make laughter and joy a greater part of your life than anger and grief.
32. Embrace solitude instead of running from it.
33. Be zealous, not jealous.
34. Forgive anyone you've been holding a grudge against.
35. Slow down and enjoy the present.
36. Walk in others' shoes before judging them.
37. Send yourself a kind message.
38. Remind yourself that the company you keep is a reflection of what you think of yourself.
39. Go on a picnic.
40. Accept your fears, no matter how crazy they seem.
41. Don't let other people's opinions shape who you are.
42. Say a prayer.
43. Never attribute your accomplishments to luck or chance.
44. Know when to say no.
45. Look at the positive side of negative situation.
46. Remember that you are a spiritual being in a physical body.
47. Avoid seeking out other people for constant approval, because it make them the master and you the slave.
48. Go fly a kite.
49. Avoid fads and bandwagons.
50. Accept the things you cannot change.
51. Look inside instead of outside yourself for answers to life's problems.
52. Remember that all feelings are okay.
53. Shield yourself from bad influences.
54. Stand up for what you believe in.
55. Respect the wishes of others when they say no.
56. Seize every moment and live it fully.
57. Give away or sell anything you haven't used in the past five years.
58. Never downgrade yourself.
59. Take responsibility for what you think, feel, and do.
60. Pamper yourself.
61. Never say or do anything abusive to a child.
62. Let yourself be God powered instead of flying solo.
63. Volunteer to help someone in need.
64. Refrain from overindulging in food, drink, and work
65. Finish unfinished business.
66. Be spontaneous.
67. Find a constructive outlet for your anger.
68. Think about abundance instead of lack, because whatever you think about expands.
69. Think of yourself as a survivor, not a victim.
70. Cuddle an animal.
71. Be open to life.
72. See success as something you already have, not something you must attain.
73. Experience the splendor and awe of a sunset.
74. When you score a base hit, don't wish it were a home run.
75. Learn to be in the present moment.
76. Instead of believing in miracles, depend on them.
77. Take a child to the circus.
78. Change your attitude and your whole life will change.
79. Never turn your power over to another person.
80. When your heart is at odds with your head, follow your heart.
81. Always remember that the past is gone forever and the future never comes.
82. Live your life according to what is right for you.
83. Acknowledge your imperfections.
84. Plant a tree and watch it grow.
85. See "friend" instead of "enemy" on the face of strangers.
86. Watch an army of ants build their houses and cities and carry food ten times their weight.
87. Believe in something bigger than yourself.
88. Let the playful child within you come out.
89. Make haste slowly.
90. Work through your problems step by step and one day at a time.
91. Accept compliments from others so you can see the truth about yourself.
92. Sit on the lawn without worrying about grass stains.
93. Don't condemn yourself for your imperfections.
94. Do a humility check periodically by loving the truth about yourself.
95. Tell someone you appreciate them.
96. Never live your life according to what is right for someone else.
97. Talk less and listen more.
98. Admit your wrongdoing and forgive yourself for it.
99. Thrive on inner peace instead of on crises.
100. Affirm all the good things about yourself.

Here is the trailer from Aftershock: Beyond the Civil War.

I play one of the ex-Slaves/ Field Hands in it.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0818080/

This rock formation can be seen from the city of Mwanza in Tanzania. It is in Lake Victoria, which is Africa's largest lake.

Photo from MichuziJr. Blog

Above is a photo of tourists admiring a baboon eating popcorn in Ngorongoro National park in Tanzania, East Africa.

The tourists look amazed but for us who grew up in Tanzania seeing monkeys was a normal thing. In fact they moved in packs and were a nusiance. A few times my kitchen was invaded by monkeys looking for food.

Well, I used to head down the road everyday to catch a bus to work. There was a pack of monkey baboons that used to hang out in trees and make a lot of noise. Their leader was a huge baboon with a big blue butt. So my dog Savimbi, used to escort me down the road and would bark at those noisy monkeys to try and scare them away. Most of the time it worked but blue butt would bark back at him from the tree. I guess blue butt finally got annoyed with Savimbi. Savimbi was under the tree barking at blue butt and blue butt jumped down on Savimbi and rode him a bit like a cowboy riding a horse, all the time Savimbi was crying in fear. Well Savimbi never bothered those monkeys again.

Boston Actress Ellen Becker-Gray

I met Ellen when we were extras on the set ofthe new film 21. We have stayed in touch and Ellen is great always updating us on auditons, casting calls, acting tips, etc. Ellen and her husband Rob, have devoted their lives to acting and its paying off. They have worked in numerous films and TV shows shot in the New England area and New York.

Congratulations Ellen on your win. I know one day you will be holding an Oscar

****************************************************************************

Here is some more information on Ellen.

http://www.townonline.com/marblehead/entertainment/x1376439883

Former Marblehead resident and teacher, Ellen Becker-Gray, was selected to receive the Best Actress award for her role in the film, “A Writer’s Moon,” an entry in the Providence, R.I. “2007 48-Hour Film Project.” The awards ceremony was held at the historic Columbus Theatre as part of the closing events of the Rhode Island International Film Festival.

The 48-Hour Film Project is a national competition in which teams of filmmakers are assigned a genre, a character, a prop and a line of dialogue, and have 48 hours to create a short film containing those elements — from writing and shooting to editing and adding music. Filmmakers competed to create the best short film during 48 hours.

This national project that started in 2001 attracted more than 1,200 films and 17,000 participants in 2006.

Becker-Gray grew up in Marblehead. A kindergarten teacher in the town’s public schools from 1985 to 2005, she took early retirement to focus on her career as a performer. She is a member of Actor’s Equity Association, Screen Actor’s Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

Becker-Gray is married to former Marblehead resident Rob Gray, who is also active in the industry. They met 27 years ago when they were involved in the Marblehead Little Theatre.

Found this on DEAR ABBY today!

WHAT A FOOL!!!!
***************************************************************************

DEAR ABBY: I'm a 32-year-old female who has been having an affair during the last year with my 59-year-old married boss. I am madly in love with him and divorced my husband eight months ago to marry him.
He promised to divorce his wife, but so far there is no sign of divorce. I'm beginning to think I'm a big fool. What do you think? -- HOT TO TROT IN BIRMINGHAM, ALA.

DEAR HOT TO TROT: I agree

Living Tanzanian Legend Bi Kidude

Taarab Legend Siti Binti Saad 1880-1950

Dishonoring the Markers of Cultural Heritage

By Salma Maulidi

Salmasmlidi@yahoo.com

The Zanzibar Arts and Music Council (BASAZA) recently held a festival at the famous Ngome Kongwe amphitheatre to mark the life of a legend of Taarab music Sitti binti Saad whose melodious voice and sonnets revolutionized Taarab and public speech.

The event held almost a week after the Festival of the Dhow Countries, ZIFF, attracted far less local and international participants. The audience comprised of Zanzibaris living abroad, home for the holidays, as well as small number of tourists. At the official level the Deputy Minister for Culture Hon. Mahmoud T. Kombo graced the event accompanied by his wife. The Mayor of Zanzibar Town was also present and was joined by Hon. Mohammed Seif Khatib, the Union Minister for Sports and Culture and also a patron in the Zanzibar Media Corporation part sponsors of the event.

For about three hours the musical world of Sitti Binti Saad was recreated. The arrangement of singers and songs very much reflected the Taarab experience of the times with female singers concealing their faces, as they sang, with the back flap of their buibui pulled over their face. The covering restored respectability considering that women singing in a Taarab ensemble defied local public- private sensitivities of the time. However, when a woman had a voice such as Siti’s, such conventions could be relaxed to allow the high and mighty to indulge in a spectacular acoustic sensation in the languages of the time- Kiswahili, Arabic and Hindi.

I felt a great sense of sadness watching the event as soon after ZIFF I would not have imagined that only a handful of locals would attend an event to recognize the life and music of a Taarab legend who was and continues to be a cultural ambassador of her region. Surely, Siti’s audacity on the Taarab stage did not only prove defining for upcoming female Taarab singers but to local artists generally. After all she made it possible for any ‘commoner’ to claim the stage (or airwaves) to wide acclaim and enjoy super star status hitherto impossible by virtue of their social positioning.

In my view, the low turnout is a reflection of a deeper malaise in our cultural appreciation as well as in how we view and value local talents and productions. To contextualize what I mean I wish to demonstrate using the example of Fatuma binti Baraka popularly known as Bi. Kidude, one of the singers who paid tribute to Siti binti Saad. Bi. Kidude, well in her nineties, gave a thunderous performance. Her song lasted over ten minutes and unlike much younger singers, who also sang at the event, her voice did not falter. She sang verses in both Kiswahili and Arabic clearly, loudly and rhythmically.

There was a small mishap when trying to fold the song: poor communication between the lead instrumentalist and the singer resulted in the latter missing the cue to end the song. In all fairness, Bi. Kidude tried to make contact on two occasions but no one paid her adequate attention. Thus, as a true performer that she is, she instinctively saved the situation by continuing with the verse to its completion rather than end prematuarely eliciting laughter from the crowd.

While this laughter was innocent and prompted by what was happening on the stage it is not isolated. Numerous conversations and observations indicate that a section of the general populace do not see Bi. Kidude as the cultural icon that she is but as a kituko (an anomaly). The reaction she elicits from the crowd therefore tends to be a mix of pleasure and scorn: generally, there is more kumsanifu than there is genuine praise. Many do not see the entertainer but want to be entertained at her expense. Her age and liberal personality is the basis of ridicule she attracts.

Now well into her nineties she can be anyone’s great grandmother but she chooses to continue with her passion performing with rigour and keeping her spirit alive instead of leading a reclusive existence acting out the social expectation of her age and sex. Bi. Kidude does not conform to any standard of social expectation: she refuses to be defined by any one. Her rebellion makes people uncomfortable and rather than accept or respect her choice, they would rather dismiss her behaviour as a rowdy (or spoiled) old woman’s ‘antics’. At most she is something you put on a show to amuse the crowd and in many cases you try to create a situation where she will act up and live up to public expectation of irrational behaviour. There is little attempt to appreciate that at her age she is sharper and more in touch than people half her age. But because the assumption is to view old people as senile and unstable many relate to her as such.

Bi. Kidude is a cultural attraction who has not only marketed Zanzibar internationally, the way Siti Binti Saad did before her, but as a performer who continues to inform a cultural form across generations. She epitomizes a living tradition with all its greatness and contradictions. At another level she is testament to the official and public neglect our cultural heritage endures surviving by the sheer will and dedication of individuals who single handedly develop and fund it with imagination and love. And what do the likes of Bi. Kidude get for their service? Scorn, jeers and periodic tributes?

How can it be that a cultural icon revered internationally is negatively perceived locally? How could it be that a figure of Bi. Kidude’s caliber is not supported and her dignity protected. Indeed, allegations abound about how scrupulous individuals and promoters use her to market their business ventures with very little credit or benefit to her. This was clear when she recently performed in the closing of the women’s panorama.

I was aghast by how a throng of local and international photographers descended on the center stage, as she performed, sticking long and short camera lenses up her face, denying her the space to perform her art as they tried to capture her from different angles. It mattered little to them that we were in a middle of a sacred function. The message from their actions was clear: Bi. Kidude was an attraction and everyone wanted a piece of her but at what cost to her? To us? To what she represents?

The Late Honourable Amina Chifupa (above), was the youngest member of the Tanzanian Parliament ever. She passed away last week at the age of 26, leaving Tanzanians in shock and feeling a sense of loss because she proved she had so much potential as a leader in such a short time.

Amina Chifupa – A Dream Deferred

Hers was a mission – a revolutionary mission
Hers was a dream – a liberating dream

Each generation, said Fanon, must discover its mission
Then, it must fulfill it
Or, else, betrays it

Amina had discovered a mission
With the passion of youth, she aimed to fulfill it
But, alas, now it remains a mission postponed!

How long shall we deter the zeal of youth?
How long shall the wisdom of age let things just go?
How long oh daughters and sons of the soil?

Like Brother King, Sister Amina had a dream
Her dream is not dead
It only remains a dream deferred

But, as Hughes asks, “what happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore-- And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over-- like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?”

Chambi Chachage
Base for African Studies Enhancement (BASE)

c/o P. O. Box 4460

Dar-es-Salaam Tanzania

I got this as an e-mail:

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Last Night ...

As I lay on my bed, thinking about you, I feel this strong urge to grab you and squeeze you, because I can't forget last night. You came to meunexpectedly during the balmy and calm night, and what happened in mybed still leaves a tingling sensation in me.

You appeared from nowhere and shamelessly, without any reservations,youlaid on my naked body...you sensed my indifference, so you appliedyour hungry mouth to me without any guilt or humiliation, and you drove menear crazy while you drained me.

Finally I went to sleep.Today when I woke up, you were gone, I searched for you but to noavail,only the sheets bore witness to last night's events. My body still bears faint marks of your enthusiastic ravishing, making it harder toforget you.

Tonight I will remain awake waiting for you... you f***ing mosquito.

(photo from Michuzi Blog)

CURRENT EAST AFRICAN PRESIDENTS

These are the current East African Presidents.

From Left to right, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania, President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, President Pierre Nkurunzinza of Burundi and President Mwani Kibaki of Kenya.

WOMEN OVER AGE 30

Andy Rooney said:As I grow in age, I value women who are over 30 most of all. Here are just a few reasons why:

- A woman over 30 will never wake you in the middle of the night to ask, "What are you thinking?" She doesn't care what you think.

- If a woman over 30 doesn't want to watch the game, she doesn't sit around whining about it. She does something she wants to do. And, it's usually something more interesting.

- A woman over 30 knows herself well enough to be assured in whom she is, what she is, what she wants and from whom. Few women past the age of 30 give a hoot what you might think about her or what she's doing.

- Women over 30 are dignified. They seldom have a screaming match with you at the opera or in the middle of an expensive restaurant. (or at Church - DC) Of course, if you deserve it, they won't hesitate to shoot you, if they think they can get away with it.

- Older women are generous with praise, often undeserved. They know what it's like to be unappreciated.

- A woman over 30 has the self-assurance to introduce you to her women friends. A younger woman with a man will often ignore even her best friend because she doesn't trust the guy with other women.

- Women over 30 couldn't care less if you're attracted to her friends because she knows her friends won't betray her.

- Women get psychic as they age. You never have to confess your sins to a woman over 30. They always know.

- A woman over 30 looks good wearing bright red lipstick. This is not true of younger women. Once you get past a wrinkle or two, a woman over 30 is far sexier than her younger counterpart.

- Older women are forthright and honest. They'll tell you right off if you are a jerk if you are acting like one! You don't ever have to wonder where you stand with her.

- Yes, we praise women over 30 for a multitude of reasons. Unfortunately, it's not reciprocal. For every stunning, smart, well-coiffed hot woman of 30, there is a bald, paunchy relic in yellow pants making a fool of himself with some 22-year-old waitress.

- Ladies, I apologize. For all those men who say, "Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free". Here's an update for you.Nowadays 80% women are against marriage, why? Because women realize it's not worth buying an entire pig, just to get a little sausage.

What do these three have in common?

We all went to the Tanzania School of Journalism (at different times) and we all worked for Tanzania's government owned English language newspaper, Daily News. We all now live in the USA.

Here we were celebrating Lady Diana Kibodya's 50th Birthday, at a grand party held in Springfield, Massachusetts on June 16th.

Lady Diane is a originally from South Africa. She fled her native country following the Soweto uprising, she witnessed the murder of her schoolmate 13 year old Hector Pietersen by whte racist police in Apartheid South Africa. She then fled by foot with other shcoolmates to Swaziland and ended up in Uganda and later Tanzania where she met her husband Isaac Kibodya.

Lady Diane has four children and a grandson. All were present at the party along with many friends and colleagues from around the world.

I got this in an e-mail, but I agree with what is said.

*************************************************************************

Michelle Obama Comes Under Attack?


Many of us are noticing that there is really and truly an attack on the value, worth, and importance of Black women in the lives of prominent men. It has gotten so bold that Angelina Jolie is playing a Black woman, 70 percent of Black women are living without spouses, the vast majority of our children are growing up in a single mother household, sixty percent of Black men who earn over $100,000 annually are married to non-Black women, and now a group of White people have created, produced, and distributed a music video that insults Presidential hopeful's Black wife, Michelle Obama; who is now the newest Black women to come under attack to soon be unmated.

Before anyone writes me to tell me the ever-popular notion that supports a cowardly and ignorant point of view that "it doesn't matter", I'm here to tell you that it better matter quick because the attack on Black women or shall I say, "Nappy Headed Hos" is moving full speed ahead.

Yesterday, while watching Fox News, there was a story about a group of college White students who are posing as Barack Obama supporters that produced a music video called "I Got a Crush on Obama" featuring a sexy White chick lip singing because she was recruited from Craiglist.com to act in a music video.

Apparently, the Jewish looking female vocalist just wasn't sexy enough to persuade a response from the public or to get Barack Obama's attention they had to use a dummy to pull off this mind-twisting insult.

This video hails Mr. Obama as some type of sex symbol Mandingo that is swooning White women and White people with his sexiness and not his intellect nor his integrity. Forget that Mr. Obama is running for the most powerful job in the world, the Presidency of the United States of America, and put aside that he has a Law Degree from Harvard University and was the only Black President of the prestigious Harvard Law Review, plus voted in as the ONLY Black Senator in the United States Senate among many other notable accomplishments has now been reduced down to being the object of White women's sexual desire.

The scantily dressed White woman with the name of "Obama" on her butt must be to let Barack-ster recognize that she and the producers are aware that Black men like asses, or just in case, he's a tits man, her blouse is tight, especially around the breast area. Furthermore, there is zero mention of Michelle Obama nor his two Black daughters as if they don't even exists, or soon won't, because he is now on White women's radar.

You see, I've been watching Barack Obama and I was very interested in how he was going to handle the Don Imus incident; he came to Black woman's calling by saying "Don Imus should be fired" and then his ranking fell about 10 percentage points. I guess he was suppose to appease Whites by not taking offense that an old White man called a group of innocent Black female college students playing in a championship tournament, "hard-core hos" and "nappy headed hos". I never once heard Anna Nicole Smith or Paris Hilton being called "hos" of any type, especially "stringy headed hos", even though it is widely known that those White women have been very public exhibiting "whorish" behavior.

Of course, any President, despite his race or gender, must be a President for all American citizens, it's nice to know that a Black man running for President has enough sense and pride to realize that to insult innocent Black women on the purity that they are simply Black females is a slap and insult to all Black women, young, old, rich, poor, educated or uneducated. And to think some Whites have stopped supporting him due to him taking a stand that protects the image of his wife and his children is somehow less American, lets me know that racism is alive, growing, and inevitable hungry to keep Black inferiority THE status quo.

And to add insult to injury, the group of 4 White people appearing on Fox News who produced this raunchy, insulting, and belittling video had the nerve to act like the video was made out of love for Mr. Obama and would actually help him win the office of Presidency. I guess the diminishing of Black female worth is so low that during the interview not one of them mentioned Michele Obama at all, just a scroll across the screen as an after thought wondered how she would feel.

Maybe Fox News received my many emails complaining about the insult to Mrs. Obama. Then, there was the question asked if Hillary Clinton was behind this video to discredit Mr. Obama, and one of the producers responded with a slippery and shady "no comment" paraphrase.

Now sistahs of the Black Woman's Movement, (if you haven't signed up, please do so today because we are in phase one of gathering up the troops—tell all your friends), we must not get upset with Barack Obama over yet another White woman chasing after a Black man of prominence, he had absolutely nothing to do with the creation and distribution of this degrading video. As a matter of fact, Mr. Obama's camp has made no comment, but was urged to contact the producers and praise them for insulting his wife and his prestige. What the heck? You see, there are trick bags all over the place and this is just some bait to see if Barack-ster would be weak and dumb enough to insult his family by being flattered with such filth and attention diverting plots that he would praise a fake singing sex-pot that was hired to perform a duty. I'm not even sure the actress hired is a real Obama supporter.

Lastly, check out this comment that I received from youtube, "if Obama is a true black man he would dump his colored girl wife and shack up with a blonde lady".

Black men are getting clowned all the time due to their continual abandonment of Black women, because you know only a TRUE racist would use the word "colored" to describe today's Black woman.

Black women must be on the same page with understanding what is feeding our epidemic singleness. Furthermore, I'm receiving comments after comments about non-Black women stealing Black men from Black women—it has truly gotten way out of hand.

If you don't' believe me, then visit my website: www.BlackWomenNeedL oveToo.com and watch a clip from the movie Jungle Fever from 1991 and tell me that we have NOT participated in the "it doesn't matter" syndrome for far too long. It's past time for us to stand up for our rights to be loved, honored, and cherished just as much as any other woman.

Learn what we can do about it in my book, Black Women Need Love, Too! available on amazon.com and if a bookstore near you doesn't have any copies on their shelves, ask them to order it—Black Women Need Love, Too! is not only a book, but an important message that needs to be spread worldwide.

ORDER YOUR COPY OF THE BOOK, BLACK WOMEN NEED LOVE, TOO! AND TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS TO DO THE SAME BECAUSE NOTHING WILL CHANGE UNTIL WE CHANGE IT.

www.BlackWomenNeedL oveToo.com

Don't forget what happened to Harold Ford when the "call me" commercial was let loose, he was a gonner--bye bye Senate!
www.BlackWomenNeedL oveToo.com

Oprah's African Girl's School

I would like to take this opportunity to Congratulate, Oprah Winfrey, for opening the Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa. These select girls are being offered a quality education in a posh environment by African standards. Let me just point out a few:

1. Dorm Rooms with Extra Large Closets
2. Hair Salon
3. Yoga Studio
4. Indoor & Outdoor Theatres
5. 200 Thread Count sheets
6. Fancy China to eat off

Having lived in Africa, I find such luxuries unnecessary for students. What counts is having your school fees paid, textbooks, uniforms and shoes, a way of getting to the school and being well fed. All these luxuries are not preparing the girls for life in the real world unless Oprah is planning on hiring all of them to work for her. That money could have been spent on educating several thousand African students. However I am still grateful that Oprah has done what she has and I hope that the beneficiaries will appreciate it as well.

Let me say that the students at that school are the envy of many school children on the continent. Many African children can't get a quality education because their families cannot afford the school fees or uniforms. Believe it or not sometimes the school fees are as low as $5. So to be assured of getting a quality education for free is a blessing to the student and the families. Many African children go to school hungry and can't concentrate on their studies because of the hunger pains in their bellies. I lived in Tanzania and studies there showed that schools where students were offered porridge in the morning did better than those that did not.

It will be interesting to follow the progress of Oprah's students. Most of them will no doubt go onto study at Ivy League schools like Harvard, Yale and Stanford.

It's no secret that in Africa most families with limited incomes will pour their resources into educating their males over females. Sometimes the girls get married off for bride price in order for their brothers to get an education. So it is uplifting to see this wonderful opportunity being offered to girls.

There is criticism of Oprah on her decision to fund schools in Africa and not the USA. Oprah says that American kids are materialistic. Yes, many are because US society has made them so. What does TV project to them.

At the same time, I disagree with Oprah that all inner city kids want are fancy sneakers and Ipods. Many want a quality education and unfortunately they don't get it and there are no scholarships. I have seen many children of color with dreams of going to College, only to have them shattered when they find out that their parents cannot afford to pay their share of the tuition and fees. Oprah needs to look into helping students in the USA who want to get an education but cannot simply because they can't afford it.

Yes, it is her money and she can spend it as she pleases, but please help kids in the USA as well. They will also appreciate it.

The Lord works in mysterious ways! When God shuts a door he opens a window! Those are two sayings that I take to heart. I think Jennifer Hudson must agree them right now.

For those who remember, American Idol Season Three. She was seventh from the top when she got booted off in what was labelled a racist vote. Jennifer could sing better than most of the remaining contestants but she got the ax anyway. I was watching and was in tears at seeing her getting the vote so soon especially before 'several' others. Anyway that year, Fantasia Barrino went on to win.

But today, the Lord has done wonders for Jennifer. She has been nominated for Best Supporting Actress for the film, Dreamgirls. In the film she plays Effie White, the lead singer of a girl group who gets dumped in the end. I haven't seen the film, but I'm looking forward to see it when it is released. I have read rave reviews and major praise for Jennifer Hudson, which is great considering that this is her first major movie.

Let's see what the Oscars and other awards have in store for her. And hopefully this is the start of a great acting and singing career for Jennifer. Yes, the Lord does indeed work in mysterious ways.

JENNIFER, YOU GO GIRL!

Aftershock Beyong the Civil War Film

The Documentary film, 'Aftershock: Beyond the Civil War ' will Premiere on the History Channel on Tuesday, December 19, 2006 at 8:00PM Eastern. It will be shown again at Midnight (12:00am) on Wednesday December 20th, 2006.

The film is a documentary filmed mainly in Massachusetts. I play a field hand in it. You can find more details about the film on imdb.com.

Aftershock: Beyond The Civil War:
Despite common belief, the Civil War does not end in 1865, and the blood of many Americans continues to flow freely. It is a period known as "Reconstruction." America is supposed to be reuniting and healing its wounds, but what emerges is a picture of murder, terrorism and chaos as "free" black men and women remain enslaved by a South that does not completely surrender. Insurgencies led by ex-Confederate soldiers rip through every southern state. America's first terrorist group, the Ku Klux Klan, is formed. Hundreds are butchered in citywide race riots, like the infamous New Orleans Massacre of 1866. Counter-insurgency groups form, like the Lowry Gang, who fights a guerilla-style battle against Confederates and northern carpetbaggers like D.P. Upham, who battles the Klan in Arkansas. All Americans feel the Civil War's aftershocks for years, while some believe its tremors are felt even today.
TVPG

You can read my Previous Blogs on my experience making the film Here:

http://chemiche.blogspot.com/2006/06/filming-aftershock-i-just-acted-in.html

http://chemiche.blogspot.com/2006/06/me-and-tim-weske-after-shooting-our.html

http://chemiche.blogspot.com/2006/06/aftershock-post-civil-war-documentary.html

CONGRATULATIONS

GOVERNOR ELECT OF MASSACHUSETTS

DEVAL PATRICK!

He made history on November 7th, 2006 by becoming Massachsetts first Black Governor and he won by a landslide. The people have spoken!

Will Massachusetts have its First Black Governor?

Today is Election Day. Usually I try to avoid talking about politics, but today I will do so. The reason being that I have seen one of the nastiest campaigns ever in this state for the Governors races.

This race will be historic no matter who wins. Kerry Healey (46), a white woman is running on the Republican ticket, while Deval Patrick (50), a black man, is running on the Democratic ticket. If Healey wins, she will be the first female Governor for the state and if Patrick wins, he will be the first black Governor. There are two other candidates, Christy Mihos, and Independent and Grace Ross of the Green Party.

Let me say that while I would love to see a woman Governor, the nastiness of this woman's campaign turned me and many other off her. In the push to garner votes she came off looking like an evil, snobby, rich bytch, concerned only with the little circle of people around her.

Healey is a Republican. For the past few years she has been the Lt. Governor for Massachsetts under Mitt Romney. Romney is a trip as he only ran for Governor of Massachusetts so that he could run for President. Let the entire USA know, Romney is a photo-op guy who cares nothing for Massachusetts and spend little time him during he tenure as Governor. Let me lay off Romney and concentrate on Healey.

Healey was Romney's shadow and in fact he rarely let her speak. It's a miracle that the Repblican's even let her run for Goveror. I am sure that all her campaign ads were approved by the state Republican committee before airing. First, they tried to 'Willie Hortonize' Patrick because he defended a rapist. Patrick worked as a prosecutor and a defender and we all know how that goes. So kudos to him for doing his job. How many times have we seen attorneys defending shady characters. That's the beauty of the American justice system. Justice for all.

Then Healey's team dispatched campaign workers dressed in Orange prison uniforms to the homes of Patrick and his running mate Tim Murray to protest. Well, this stunt backfired big time. Tim Murray's 12 year son was home alone getting ready to go to school when the orange clad group showed up and terrorized the boy. After that both Patrick and Murray had police assigned to their homes.

Next Healey's team aired over and over again and ad is which some woman heads to her car in a garage and gets raped or is about to get raped or something, while the narrator says something about Patrick allowing it and he should be ashamed. I had to switch off my TV. It was disgusting. Grace Ross said of the commerical during a debate, " That ad makes rape victims feel like they are being raped again!"

Then Healey's campaign went to media with something about Deval Patrick's sister being raped by her husband! The husband served time over it and in fact the two have been happily married for over 15 years and they are counselors and their children knew nothing about it until Kerry Healey's campaign exposed it! Hey Healey, what did that have to do with the campaign, that was just vile!

Now, many times a day we see a buff white guy jogging in some suburb, thinking to himself about Deval Patrick. In my opinion the only thing he didn't put into words was that he did not want to be governed by a black man!

And where was Deval Patrick during all this negative campaigning...well believe it or not, he stayed positive and focused on what he would do as Governor. He refused to go negative on Healey. He proved himself to be Gentleman. He could have had a field days with Healey's views that the elderly are overhoused.

Even in the debates Patrick showed his decency, though he did throw some jabs at Healey like, "Why don't you come down off your high horse, and I'll show you around so you can see how it works." This was after she attacked him over his work in the justice system.

Deval Patrick ran a grassroots campaign and reached out to everyone. Let me just say that I never even saw Kerry Healey in my neighborhood, or any of her people. And the barbebcues held by 'ordinary citizens' that she was seen attending were in posh suburbs. So obviously she doesn't stand for the common man. At one of the debates Patrick said that Healey should talk about the issues instead of trying to scare people into voting for her.

Let's see what the turn out will be. I hope that Deval Patrick wins. If he does, let it be a lesson to those who use negative campaigning tactics. People are not stupid.

SWAHILI SPEAKING ACTOR WANTED

By, Josiah Kibira

Kibira Films International is currently looking actors for its upcoming project to be filmed next year in Tanzania - July 1st - July 31, 2007 This new movie is a sequel to the movie Bongoland which was produced in 2003 by Kibira Films. Bongoland was/is a drama about different challenges that immigrants face once they arrive in the foreign land. It dealt with issues of immigration papers, employment, school and relationships. The main characters asked - "would you rather be a well fed slave or a hungry freeman"? He asked this while contemplating whether to keep chasing the ever elusive American dream or go back to his native land.

The sequel is a continuation of that drama following the main character Juma to see if his dreams for a better life were fulfilled after he decided to go back to his native Bongoland. The working title for the movie is "Bongoland II - There Is No Place Like Home."

Here are the qualifications for the post:

[1.] Be a male actor. [2.] Fluent Swahili speaker.[ 3.] Some film or stage acting - not necessary but would be helpful. [4.] Have seen the movie "Bongoland" [5.] Currently living in the United States [6.] Have legal status to travel in and out of USA. [ 7.] Willing to work on a deferred payment contract. [8.] Ability to get along with people.

Additional Perks for the role:

[1.] Free round trip ticket to Tanzania. [2.] All accommodations provided while in Dar. [3.] Daily stipend while on the set. [4.] Possibility of earning a role in Kibira Films future projects. [5.] Exposure to Film festivals in USA, Europe and Africa. [6.] Screen testing in Minneapolis, MN if selected or being considered. [7.] Possible career move.

For consideration:

[1.] Send a headshot. [2.] Your resume OR. [3.] An essay of why you think you should be considered for the role. [4.] Any tapes, DVD, vocals showing your acting abilities - In actual production i.e. play, movie (if you have it)
[5.] Send to: Kibira Films International 2860 Zanzibar Lane North Plymouth, MN 55447
[6.] Email - info@kibirafilms.com Thanks and Good Luck.
More information about Kibira Films - www.kibirafilms.com
Phone #: Office: (612)-291-2719; Mobile: (763)-229-2495

Being PHAT (Pretty Hot and Tempting) in America

When people here in America tell me that I have a big behind, I tell them that I wish it was twice the size. When I answer that, I can see them in shock. I grew up in Africa and believe me, the bigger the behind the more beautiful one is considered.

In America having a blessed behind is considered ugly, being overweight. Look at the way people initially laughed at Jennifer Lopez because they said she had a big one. I was appalled at the airbrushing of her pictures to reduce the size of her behind. Funny, nowadays people are buying padded pants to make themselves look like they have big one. Thank you Beyonce? and all the others in the ‘bootylicious’ movement.

Truth said in most African cultures having a flat behind is considered ugly. Being thin is a sign of illness and misery. This brings me to my point today, and that it the film Phat Girlz.

Phat Girlz is a film written and produced by an Ethiopian-American, Nngest Likke. The film is based on her frustrations that she felt in America as a plus-size women. Phat Girlz did not do well at the Box office, and I’m not surprised. America is a society that worships what Hollywood feeds it. It’s image of beauty is a skeletal thin, blonde blue eyed woman. Phat Girlz protagonist is a heavyset black woman…a no no in Hollywood .

In Phat Girlz many Americans are in disbelief that a gorgeous well toned, Dr. Tunde (Jimmy Jean-Louis) can fall in loved with heavyset PHAT sister Jazmin (Mo’nique). Well, of course it’s possible and to him she is the most gorgeous woman on the planet. He was raised in a culture where the ‘Thick Madam’ is Queen. The saying that, “Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder” rings true here.

Well I have the Phat Girlz DVD, and I have watched everything on it and heard about thetrials and tribulations of making them film. I have to say that I am and will be forever grateful that this film was made. As I have said before it is long overdue. The film will definitely have a cult following. And with the release of the DVD Phat Girlz has moved from the #1 worst movie on the Internet Movie Database to the #7 its rating will probably rise as more people watch it. It’s no secret that there were racist and anti-fat campaigns against the movie which led to low turn out at the movies.

Phat Girlz is not about glorifying being fat, but accepting who you are, living life and yes, Phat peoples dreams can come true too.

Director /Producer Nnegest Likke asks viewers which ending they prefer. I prefer the Extended version ending where Jazimn tells viewers to go be with the one they love. That’s a romantic ending that gets viewers involved.

I look forward to Phat Girlz 2.

Warriors: Spiritually Engaged
The Making of Maangamizi – The Ancient One

What does it take to make a movie in Africa? I guess most people would say cast, crew, equipment, money, patience and tolerance. It also takes resourcefulness, creativity and the blessings of the ancestors.

In 1994 a film crew from Los Angeles set out to make a film in Tanzania, East Africa with minimal budget. Little did they know it would take six years before the film would be completed. Maangamizi the Ancient One has an interesting history behind it. Maangamizi’s screenplay writer and producer, Queenae Taylor Mulvihill has written a book about the Maangamizi experience.

I have to say it’s been a while since I enjoyed reading a book. This past weekend I was fascinated with ‘Warriors: Spiritually Engaged, The Making of Maangamizi-The Ancient One. In fact the book was so good that I skipped TV watching and other household chores just to concentrate on finishing the book.

Maybe it’s because I took part in the film or the fact that I personally know or have met many of the people mentioned in the book. But, I think anyone would be intrigued by the behind the scenes drama that spanned three continents…Africa, North America and Australia. Queenae talks candidly about incidents in her life and an awakening process that happened because of her involvement with the film. She talks about culture shock, love, adultery, death, friendship, disappointment and more. Most importantly she talks of the hold that the film took on all involved.

Maangamizi the Ancient One was Tanzania’s official selection to the 74th Academy Awards in 2002, in the Foreign Language Category. It did not make the top five. But this was a major achievement as it was Tanzania’s first ever submission for the prestigious award.

Maangamizi has been screened at over 20 film festivals around the world and has been shown on every continent. It's won many awards, yet little is know about it in the USA.

For more information visit the Gris Gris Films website http://www.grisgrisfilms.com.

Also check out Maangamizi on imdb.com

PHAT GIRLZ ON DVD 8-22-06

PRESS RELEASE

THERE'S NO DREAM TOO BIG FOR SOME GIRLS!

Mo'Nique Delivers BIG Laughs In The Outrageous Comedy Bursting Onto DVD August 22, 2006 From Fox Home Entertainment

CENTURY CITY, Calif . – The stars are big and the laughs are bigger in the full-bodied comedy Phat Girlz , on DVD August 22, 2006 from Fox Home Entertainment. Starring funny-lady Mo'Nique ( Soul Plane, “The Parkers”) as Jazmin, an aspiring plus-size fashion designer who struggles to find acceptance, Phat Girlz hilariously shows that size does matter — and big is in! Also starring Kendra C. Johnson (“Bones”), Joyful Drake (Beauty Shop), Godfrey (Soul Plane) and Eric Roberts (“The L Word”), Phat Girlz dishes up plenty of belly laughs as Jazmin and her friends find love and success by maximizing their inner strength and beauty. The Phat Girlz DVD features super-sized bonus material including a never-before-seen version, director and cast commentary, deleted and alternate scenes with optional director's commentary, “Supersize Dreams: A Director's Video Diary,” “The Reel Deal: The Making Of Phat Girlz,” “The Phattest Guy: A Tribute to Producer Bobby Newmyer,” outtakes and a gag reel. The DVD will be available for the suggested retail price of $27.98 U.S./$43.48 Canada .

Synopsis:Superstar comedienne Mo'Nique stars as a sassy, plus-sized fashion designer who's tired of taking no for an answer in this hilarious comedy about living life to the fullest. Jazmin Biltmore has big plans for large ladies – she's designed a sexy line of clothes for curvaceous women like herself. But when she can't get funding for her designs or meet a man who appreciates her unique physique, Jazmin's patience starts running thin. That is, until she wins an all-expense-paid trip to a resort in Palm Springs , where she just might just meet the man of her dreams.

DVD Special Features:The Phat Girlz DVD piles on the extras including a never-before-seen version, feature commentary by director Nnegest Likke, Mo'Nique and others, deleted and alternate scenes with optional director's commentary, “Supersize Dreams: Director's Video Diary,” “The Reel Deal: The Making Of Phat Girlz,” “The Phattest Guy: A Tribute to Producer Bobby Newmyer,” outtakes and a gag reel. The DVD will be available in either widescreen (1.85:1) or pan & scan (1.33:1) on a flipper disc with English 5.1 Dolby Surround, as well as French and Spanish Dolby Surround.

Tanisha & Mo'nique

CONGRATULATIONS MISS F.A.T. 2006

(Tanisha Malone)

Another year of Miss F.A.T. (Fabulous and Thick) has come and gone. This year the beautiful 27 year old Miss Tanisha Malone won the title. She beat out nine other fabulous and thick women of different races to win the competition despite having a huge burn scar of her body. Her personality was awesome and not to mention she blew the competition away in the lingerie segment. She wore a purple fur cape over a bikini like outfit. When she opened her cape everyone gasped in astonishment, no big belly! Whoa girl how do you do it? Guess what she does for a living, she's a morgue technician! More power to her, I don't know many women who do that for a living.

Another point, with her body shape, especially the huge backside, guys in Africa would be fighting over her. She's be guaranteed to marry the millionaire of her choice. Yes, that African Venus gene is strong in her, and in Africa having a huge backside is considered beauty.

I wish Tanisha well in going around and motivating youngsters. They need the motivation in a society that worships Hollywood's abnormal skeletal beauty image. I wish there were more motivators andI thank Mo'nique for pushing for this pageant. I have seen too many young women fall into depression because of their size and not strive to reach their full potential.

That said, Ladies get ready for next year's competition, it's going to be tougher!

Aftershock Behind the Scenes

photo by Scott Lefton

This a shot of all the actors who played Field Hands in Aftershock. The guy hanging is actually Stephen LeClaire, a local musician and also the owner of the ranch where this segment was shot. he gets hanged for killing someone in the film. In real life he's a great guy! Note this was definitely between breaks, we're wearing shoes and smiling!

Aftershock is now listed on imdb.com. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0818080/