Alternate Vision

I have this burnt CD that says "Chillout" on it. I haven't the foggiest how and when this CD made its way into one of my case logics. I'm normally pretty good about keeping track of my CDs, labeling them carefully and all that jazz. Though, as a result of one too many "lends" some of my most favorite CDs are, sorry to say, scratched. I hate it when that happens but I'll save that rant for another time. Anyway, back to this myterious "chillout" CD. It mostly has lounge/ house/ dub and latin groove beats (everything from Nitin Sawhney to Cafe Del Mar) on it all of which made my miserable car ride to campus in the pouring rain early this morning a tad bit more bearable. Then, Track 11 comes on. I almost rammed into the next car. I couldn't stop moving. I haven't been entranced by a beat like that in a while. The song has this las salinas-esque quality to it, with an electronic guitar sound that reminds me of infected mushroom, a simple catchy base line and no lyrics but instead this sexy latin flavor woven into the fabric of the song. My anthem of the week, no doubt. And of course I sat in the parking lot and waited till the whole song finished. I'm a sucker for good music, what can I say.

But, where did this "chillout" CD appear from? How am I to figure out the name of the song? the maestro behind all this? I want to guess its one of the "chillout sessions" from the Ministry of Sound that Alex owned that somehow made its way into my case logic, but I could be wrong. Besides where do I start? Oh the torture. I shall interpret this as a sign from the divine superpowers above that I need to start making music again. Jeremy will need to be involved in this. It has been too long.

I wish I could make a living from reading such news articles, all day ever day; that leave tears rolling down my cheeks from guffawing.

From Nigeria's very own This Day comes this precious news article.

"Governor of a Nigerian Province, Mr. Alamieyeseigha (pronounced Ala-mesi-ya), who was on trial in London for stealing public funds, skipped bail, dressed himself up as a lady and found his way back to Nigeria, where he hopes to continue ruling as governor of Bayelsa State.

His cousin in crime, Mr. Joshua Dariye apprehended in London a year ago for a similar offense, also skipped bail, returned to Nigeria and continues to govern the state of Plateau." - Stolen from Chipla


Speechless

"Preeti Shah spends eight hours a day doing school projects. But make no mistake — this isn't some overburdened Class X student one is talking about, but a south Mumbai housewife who charges a fee to do professional projects for schoolchildren.
Today, Preeti — whose business card actually reads 'For Making School and College Projects and Notes' — has a flourishing trade, given the thousands of parents and children who see nothing improper about outsourcing homework. " - Times of India

Am sorry but this is outright ridiculous. How on earth could you justify such an act and even worse make a profession out of it? She does their homework and projects because 90% of her clients are too busy with extracurricular activities? I won't question the latter but how can vulnerable children hope to learn when they are told by institutions and parents that its ok that some "aunty" will do their homework for them, for a fee too? Its one thing if she was assisting them, or tutoring them. That concept makes sense to me. But this, this is flawed. No wrong. The way I see it is that it all boils down to the system (including parents) putting pressure on students to get good grades come what may, even if it means turning in work that is not yours. Then how do you expect them to be capable of original thinking?

I was all ready to spend the evening wallowing in pain after having a bit too much habanero sauce with my wrap last night ( I still feel like I have holes in my intestines). Turns out I was wrong. Julius my uber-cool Navaho partner in crime decides to drag me out to the after party of the Pittsburgh hip-hop Film Festival. After what went down last night I am rather dissapointed I didn't get to watch any of the movies. What added to the coolness was the fact that this event was held at this Old Church/Cathedral in Pitt's clubbing district, now converted into this upscale club (with painted glass windows and sexy lighting) aptly named "The Sanctuary"- ideal place for Friday night salsa and Saturday night trance-dance with spectacular DJsThrow in the deadly mix of die-hard breakdancers throwing down crazy moves as they defy gravity itself and you will be left dumbfounded (I love that word). Reminds me of everytime I watch Capoeira. Keep thinking to myself "I refuse to accept that they are human." I'd like to see a dance-off between one of these breakfancers and a Capoeira arist. Yes, to me its an art in itself.
Word to the breakdancers out there

And I woke up this morning to the sight of white puffy flakes floating down from above. This is wrong. It shouldn't be snowing already.

So apparently I am sitting right under this new and refurbished, "green" roof which is the result of yet another fantastic idea/experiment here at CMU. What is cool is its all student driven, with university support ofcourse. Normally, I would never have thought of walking out on top of the roof, especially given the weather isn't all that spectacular here. But now, assuming the weather is decent (which is asking a lot, but still) I have a new spot to escape to when in need of fresh air and some peace and quiet time to myself. And whats even better is this bad boy is right on top of me.

"A green roof reduces cooling and heating energy consumption, protects the roof's structural elements from UV rays, extends the life of the roof, and lowers storm water waste streams. " Since this is part of a project you can view it in realtime through their webcam.

More on green roof's here and CMU's green roof project here.

"Is it simple coincidence that the West cannot field a single functioning government? The punditry dismisses Bush as dumb, Blair as smarmy, Chirac as arrogant, Berlusconi as bent, and Merkel - well, when they discover some identifying characteristics of the new German chancellor, the punditry doubtless will find grounds to dismiss her as well. Perhaps it is just the luck of the draw, but the odds do not favor the interpretation that all the big nations of the West had the misfortune to find themselves led by ninnies at precisely the same time.

In the classic tragedy of Greek religious festivals, the tragedy of the individual is the tragedy of a culture; the case of Orestes can be resolved only by a cultural change, in this case trial by jury at Athens. Bush, whose second administration has failed on all fronts after 10 months in office, may be less articulate than Pericles, but he is no less tragic, and his tragedy is that of the Americans as a people, just as Chirac's tragedy is that of the French. " - Asia Times

why western governments fail, by Spengler

Screw the system. Happy hour beckons.

I miss being on the road, in search of the next sunrise and not knowing what its going to be bring. My anchored feet feel increasingly heavy with the passing of each day. I need to find an alternate form of escapism. The hardest part of nurturing the nomad in me is to discipline my mind to keep this spirit alive after acknowledging that I ain't going nowhere far anytime soon. You have to give something up to gain something. Simple as that. Fighting the urge is harder than I had imagined especially when reality throws these curveball teasers at you when you least expect it. The answer lies within reach. It is all in the mind. I know it. Its just a matter of time.

NickinNigeria - For those of you who are remotely interested in issues pertinent to Africa, and specifically Nigeria, his blog is a must read. For someone who grew up in the land of the area boy and NEPA wahala, I am constantly humbled by how hardcore an experience Nick is having, something not many foriegners who come to the continent go through simply because they get all cozy in their comfort zones (schauffeur driven, air conditioned cars, fancy shmancy houses) and rarely step outside to take a peek at what the other side of the fence has to offer. Shameless plug yes, but its for a darn good reason.

Seth and I look for the slightest excuse to digress from our work and indulge in conversation about our favorite topics of discussion - the non-profit world, globalization and Africa. He is able to provoke thought around such issues of global relevance like no one I know. He recently introduced me to yet another gem of an individual - Megan Mylan. She is the architect behind two spectacular films that are top on my wish list and which I probably won't get to until all this eternal graduate school chaos settles down.

Lost Boys of Sudan : "Lost Boys of Sudan is a feature-length documentary that follows two Sudanese refugees on an extraordinary journey from Africa to America. Orphaned as young boys in one of Africa's cruelest civil wars, Peter Dut and Santino Chuor survived lion attacks and militia gunfire to reach a refugee camp in Kenya along with thousands of other children. From there, remarkably, they were chosen to come to America. Safe at last from physical danger and hunger, a world away from home, they find themselves confronted with the abundance and alienation of contemporary American suburbia."

Batidania: Power in the Beat : " Batidania explores music as a means of protest for the children of Banda AfroReggae, an Afro-Brazilian youth drum corps from one of Rio de Janeiro's
most violent slums, or favelas. Through concerts and wide media coverage, the children use their music to draw attention to the intense police brutality and drug trade that dominate their community while sending a strong message to Brazilian society that they expect more for their future."

This is an awesomely written article on the above by Megan herself. I am reminded of the paper I had to write on the economic disparity that plagues this magical country while living in Belo Horizonte. Half the challenge was to decide what the focus of my paper should be and the mightier challenge was to write it in Portuguese. The former worked itself out when I fortuitiously got a chance to go visit Rocinha one of the largest slums in Rio de Janeiro all thanks to Aurelio, my guide back then. I remember him talking about Rocinha having its own samba school, FM station, soccer team and even a modelling agency. Anyway, I digress yet again. Let Megan charm you with her words.