Sometimes I Don't Get It

There was a time in human history where leaves, animal skin and a little tan provided all the protection one needed from the elements. Simplicity was of the essence. These days? Not so much. A couple of things that I picked up from the internet.

First the Italian Vogue issue on African fashion has a due date!

http://www.styleite.com/media/luomo-vogue-africa-issue/

Africa is coming into its own when it comes to fashion. At the same time there have been designers who have seen fit to admire and appropriate African design aesthetics without proper due.

Then we have designers like Walter Van Beinrendonck. He is one in a very rare clutch of designers who frequently has all black male models for his catwalks. He is very talented and has been "designer's designer" to steal from my source since the 80's. I took a look at his designs:






Then, I noticed a couple of things: first the bone through the nose(!), then the "flesh-toned" gloves and shoes that some of the (predominantly black) models wore. What exactly was the message he was trying to put across--about himself, the models and/or the clothes? It is disturbing because on the one hand, he makes truly interesting clothes and has a great sense of colour and design. O the other hand? Bone. Through. nose.

Is This For Real?

Saw this on the web while reading up on Kreayshawn (who, you ask? That is a post for another day).

Read original post here.




Shocked by British men's choice..what is WRONG WITH MEN IN EUROPE? Confused..?



I'm a college student here in the U.S and this summer I did the "studying abroad" like most universities have. There were about 45 students this summer from the business school in my University.

I'm 23 years and I consider myself a good looking girl because I take care of myself. I do not look down on others or races. I'm obvious white, 115 pounds, 5"5" tall, 36 bust. In college i have a lot of guys going after me and my friends.

STUDY ABROAD SUMMER:

This summer the study abroad was in london. We were so excited about being in london and meeting good looking british guys. To our surprise, we found that european men preferred to go after black women. This was shocking and such an eye opener to me and my white girl friends.

We went to pubs, clubs, restaurants. lounges and some other fancy places. It was the same. They bought drinks for them. Thats not to say that white men did not hit on white girls just that seemed to be on equal grounds. Which is good but surprising because this does not usually happen in america.

OUR GROUP:

our group of girls had 3 white girls and 2 African American girls. I'm not racist. Even in school this is our usual circle of friends. We travelled together in Europe and every where else.

WHAT HAPPENED:

Every time we went out, the british white guys would mostly be after the African American girls. My African American girls are also pretty. It's just that it shocked us the white American girls. We thought, we would be the first pick. I guess we are used to the white American guys not appraoching black girls, I thought it would be the same there.

LEARNING EXPERIENCE:

I found that in europe a white girl is not the most wanted girl. I learned tthat white and black girls have equal chances when it comes to men there. We found that there are many white men and black women couples in the U.K as there are black men and white women couples. Unlike in the U.S where there much more blcak men and white women couples compared to white men and black women couples

By the time we went out for the 4th times, we the white girls knew it was fair game for the men for both black and white girls.

I WAS HURT NOT because I'm white but because there were some guy there that i would have liked to have spent some time with but instead they chose to get to know an African America girl. I would have felt the same way had they chosen an other white girl over me

CONCLUSION:

Not all but from what we experienced we learned that european men view women of all races in the same way or view black women in better light than white american men. This happened when we went to France, Ireland, Scotland, Switerland, Italy and Germany.

Bare in mind that there are a lot black british people in the U.K. I have lived with black people for as long as we have.

I had a good time though. I learned a lot about other people and culture.

MY QUESTION:

Why is it different here. In america, i'm a 100% certain that if I were to walk in a place with only white men and I walked in with some African American girls that a white man would appraoch a black woman at least not in public or in front of a white girl.

What makes a white american man different from a white european man?


WE LEARNED THAT RACE DOES NOT SHAPE BEHAVIOR BUT CULTURE DOES.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Americans.

Le Detox update

All done and dusted today. Trying to work out what to have for breakfast this morning.

I am loving my flat stomach, I woke up this morning and did not have awful morning breath (combination of not smoking and detox probs but OMG, fresh as a daisy I was)

I am totally galvanised now to find a way to keep juicing, eating raw and healthy. My skin is glowing and I feel lighter.

It really works!!!
Sent from my BlackBerry® Smartphone, from Etisalat. Enjoy high speed internet service with Etisalat easy net, available at all our experience centres

Le Detox

I would have written about this at the start of the detox but I have been so dizzy, disorientated and confused since I started that I have been unable to be concentrate enough to do so.

As you all may know the magazine I work for TW does a bi yearly weight loss challenge. 10 women get an all expenses paid 3 months at a swanky gym with 3 times a week personal training and a dietician. This is week 4 ish and Ms Dietician has put us all on a 3 day detox. Some brave souls have opted to do 5 days but, being the delicate flower that I am, I decided that baby steps were in order.

Anyway 6 pre made juices of various consistency (nasty things like beetroot and ginger have made an appearance) to be drunk every two hours and nothing else but water and lemon.

Suffice to say I am really really suffering right now. I love my food so this has really been hard. My head is always a little achy and I have had to cancel out any sudden movements due to my tendency to faint in a non delicate manner. I have also been falling asleep all over the place (yes I know I was prone to that already but its like 10 times worse).

No hanging out, no smoking , no eating, no drinking. I am not a happy bunny right now but I am gunning for Jessica Beale body so....
Sent from my BlackBerry® Smartphone, from Etisalat. Enjoy high speed internet service with Etisalat easy net, available at all our experience centres

Let's talk about the weather

A dear friend of mine once told me how she cannot understand the British obsession with the weather.
I tried to explain to her that the variability of the weather is what makes it such a hot topic. You can't step out of your house in England without knowing what may befall you later in the day. It determines your footwear, what kinda umbrella friendly bag you will be toting and how many extra layers of clothes you have to roll with.

"Yes" she says "I understand that, but why then do they feel the need to talk about the weather here?"

I think my argument at the time was that its generally known as a safe and "interesting" topic of small talk.

"If its raining, its raining, we can all see that...why do we have to talk about it"

This has been her stand for many years I would imagine but time and tides have changed.

I think that only a very self absorbed person has not managed to notice the absolute craziness that is the weather on our planet these days. I am a firm believer that this hole in the Ozone layer and global warming is to blame.

Most of my friends are inches deep in snow right now and from what I gather loving it (sheesh).

Yesterday Lagos experienced what could only be described as a freak WIND!! Blew in, minimal rain, 20 mins later it was gone.

Don't get me wrong I heard nothing. Nothing I tell you. I also did some running around and saw NOTHING. So imagine my surprise when my gym buddy wa
s running late due to trees having been blown down and blocking the rd.

I immediately go on twitter and get the general aftermath stories. Trees and road signs down, debris everywhere phone reception disruption etc etc

I then get a call from my dear friend.
"Odun, the roof blew off, I had no idea what was going on. I thought the end of days had come"
Poor thing was in all sorts of shock, coming out of a deep sleep to your roof flying off would have probably killed a lesser person.
I guarantee she spent the rest of the day talking about this errant wind.

Later reports came in that the Angels and Demons may have been having a bit of a tiff but I don't want to go into that too much.

Weather reports coming soon to a TV station near you!!
Sent from my BlackBerry® Smartphone, from Etisalat. Enjoy high speed internet service with Etisalat easy net, available at all our experience centres

Golden Oldie...With a Twist

Ginuwine's 'Pony is an oldie but goodie, still holding it down for baby-makin'-music songs all over the world. Rock group Far's rock dials down the sex just a touch, but it still is a great...bedroom banger.

Bad Girls

She is a bad muther--shut yo' mouth! MIA is the Sri Lankan/British rapper/mother who manages not to care while married to her billionaire heir husband. She is amazeballs. It is fun to watch her eerily dead eyes rap at you while she files her nails sitting on (not in, on!) a car travelling on two wheels.

Day light Robbery

I met a very interesting gentleman about 3 nights ago. He was regaling me about his theory on how the increase in petrol price had already led to an increase in robberies and bad manners.

He told of kidnapping in the fashion of Hollywood movies as our criminals got more inventive and daring. Any which way you look at it, it was all very alarming.

What I had not really contended with, yesterday morning on my way to collect my little madam from camp still in my pyjamas, was that naturally our other notorious criminal gang, the police, would have stepped up their game too.

They pray on confused looking people like myself. They are very aware that most women do not really take charge of their car registration. We either get our husbands (who usually have some guy they send to get it all done as we do) or their daddy's (ditto) or their drivers to do it. So when they ask for the particulars of the car the first thing you do is have a mini heart attack because you are not 100 % sure where it is. You poke around in the glove compartment and send up hot prayers. Relieved you pull out a pile of papers and hand them over. Dig around in your hand bag for your phone and drivers license at the same time. So at this point I literally want to enter the ground when he flings one of the papers at me and shouts "your insurance has expired"
Arrrrrrggghh I am thinking. How annoying.

Now he is in his element ranting on about impounding my darling car etc etc
I am calmly explaining how I am not going anywhere with him as my baby is in camp waiting to be picked up and he is welcome to come for the ride.

Anyway its money he wants and I whip it out as I am totally feeling he has me on the back foot. As I drive away I ask my nanny (who has been sitting there shell shocked this whole time) to look through the papers cos the rds are positively teaming with the police I notice. The next thing she notices and which that shady guy was holding in his hands, was the copy of my legit insurance.

Now I am fuming, cunning like a fox or shall I say criminal the "policeman" played me.

So sad living in a country when you don't even know who the criminals are..
They masquerade as our public officials and trusted figures. Horrid horrid horrid
Sent from my BlackBerry® Smartphone, from Etisalat. Enjoy high speed internet service with Etisalat easy net, available at all our experience centres

Smoker diaries

Its day nine now and I have been giving daily moans and groans on twitter and on my bb but here is the full summary.

I am totally miserable right now. I have had to give up cold turkey because, being the delicate flower that I am, I can't handle replacement therapy. Makes me feel nauseous and dizzy and rundown...(Seriously though I am one of those who has to take a nap on "non drowsy" antihistamines!!).

So how did I get that extra incentive you might ask? Well its an interesting story that starts at my dentist!! Stay with me it will make sense in a bit. He is looking in my mouth and making horrid tutting noises that make me tres ashamed. Going on like I don't know have to wield a toothbrush. He does some deep gum cleaning routine (which I googled after to ensure it was legit and not some made in Nigeria technique. It seemed so brutal. 6 injections to keep my gums numb etc!!). Then he puts me on some 6 months oral hygiene routine (which I must admit I have already fallen down on). Had to pop all kinds of painkillers and even got a check up call from mr dentist in the morning.

For some reason imagining my gums in the state of mince meat just made me think that smoking was just asking for mouth cancer soo I quit.

Now I have lost my voice because my body seems to be rejecting all things healthy.

This morning I was moaning to the boy about how I sound like a goose etc etc
He says "well its not like you are doing any thing for your throat"
"Yes I am"
"What"
"Erm I gave up smoking!! Dunno know what else I am supposed to do"

Sheeesh

So that's all folks!! I don't feel the benefits yet. I am still hacking up almost two decades of pollution.

Will keep you posted.
Sent from my BlackBerry® Smartphone, from Etisalat. Enjoy high speed internet service with Etisalat easy net, available at all our experience centres

Reading and Driving

I am not sure how clear this piccy is going to be but I saw this and had to share.

The cheeky, endangering our children, widow maker is reading and driving!!

Pet hate right there

Ice Cream Factory Fan

Lynx:- wildcat found prowling the wilds of North America and Eurasia. Also: male body spray known to fell women(not in a good way) with its pungent aroma.

Lynxxx:- Sexy beast found on the Lagos music scene. Also: Panty-dropper extraordinaire known to fell women--in a very good way.

I know church going souls with nary a lustful thought who have dreams about this man. He hit the Nigerian music scene thanks to SYNDIK8 Records and his first single 'Change Your Parade' was an instant club banger, pumping through the speakers and melting women of all ages into puddles of charged hormones. His introduction of his signature word 'utunu' into the Nigerian lexicon (Does anyone know what the heck it means?) helped cement his position in the Nigerian music industry.

Gorgeousness aside, much of his music leaves me cold. His new single 'Ice Cream Factory' chronicles his romance at a girl he met at best ice-cream location in Lagos, and--dare I say it?--the country. He is smooth, delivers his line in a sexy, singsong cadence that is sure to drive the ladies wild. I'm sure it will be a hit as ladies love the man and has all the components for a hit, but its run-of-the-mill tune and blah lyrics leave me less than thrilled.

The video itself suffers from a truly terrible weave hairline (girl, you have got to LAY OFF the weave! It is hard but you'll be bald by the time you're 30 if you don't take your time) sported by the female vocal artist Mimi and some other guy called Enze who I can't quite identify in the song. Sorry. The director of the video, Tom Robson, went to very ordinary lengths to shoot an uninspiring video and it in no way tells any story we haven't seen before. They didn't even feature the actual ICF, even though they went to get permission to use the location. Creativity, people. We actually look forward to such in videos.

My rating 5/10

Check the video out for yourself and tell me what you think!

My World. Just. Ended.

I have certain... proclivities. Not a lot of Nigerians are into this sort of thing, though I know many would be if only they opened themselves up to the experience. It is somewhat foreign to us though. It can be dark, very sexy, and so innocent, all at the same time. Yup, you guessed it. I love foreign TV, movies & music. Korean to be precise.



In other, totally unrelated news--it really has no bearing on the previous paragraph whatsoever, because I for one would never, EVER, think of doing something that would harm big recording & film studios 'cos I'm a good girl, I am--

(PAUSE FOR A DEEP BREATH)

Megaupload, internet repository for illegal movies, TV series, games, books a ton of pornography and pretty much anything that can be stored on the internet (both legal and illegal), has been taken down by the FBI in America. Shoot me now.

PS

I forgot to mention that Swizz Beats--Alicia Keys baby daddy, philanderer and head of serial cheaters anonymous (not too sure about the last one)--is the CEO. Since the charges read like a mobsters rap sheet, it surprising to see that his name does not come up anywhere at all on the lists of arrests. It must be because he's a rich dude. He's the 1 black guy who got away. Or did he? In the meantime, enjoy...

A little Intro...

Hi,
So. It's taken me the whole day to track down my blogger password. Ods was yelling and I'm panicking because resetting my password will mean I would have to change it on four (yes, 4) different devices, not to mention all the other services that I signed up for. In other words, it would have been a serious(!) pain in the ass, a crap storm of epic proportions. I might have ended up looking like this:



(but a lot less sexy and a lot more insane) If I had not found it. But success! It is found and I can blog.

Ciao!

I'm Tolu BTW.

Where have I seen this before?

Not trying to be a high class wooden spoon but looking through my feb edition english vogue I am struck by a few influences that frankly can only be called Nigerian!!!

I wonder if my friends at LDA will agree?

Angelina vs Jennifer

No matter how unfair your life may be always count your lucky stars you are not Jennifer Aniston.

Seriously though, the insult is too much. Angelina is not by any means a normal mortal. Look at her glowing at the Golden globes. If I was Jennifer, I would find another planet to inhabit because for real IT IS TOO MUCH.

Anyone who knows me knows that Ms Aniston is on my list, in-between Beyonce (yes I know I am hating) and Penelope Cruz (simply because my boy fancies the pants off her).


The reason I hate her come from that coin toss thing they are always talking about. I used to love her in Friends obsessively. I bought the jewellery she was wearing and a famous pair of tartan trousers from Jane Norman, I loved that woman. I loved that show. Then she began to believe her own hype, the silly mare. Married Brad Pitt, arguably one of the hottest men on the planet, and pretended it 'aint no thing' grrrr.

"Have my babies" he said
"NNNOooo I wanna concentrate on my career"
We all know how well that went.

Meanwhile back at the ranch Angelina's star keeps on rising and she carting about the finest football team on the planet.

We salute you

Are we there yet?

Just like that. Press conference, Labour leaders say it all off. Petrol price brought down to 97 Naira per litre (which btw I suspect was going to happen anyway). Army hit the rds in force doing spot checks and dispersing any attempts to protest. CNN and BBC office raided by Nigerian secret service...no idea why they thought they could get away with that.

Schools not kicking off till Wednesday coz most people will be watching to see how tomorrow goes.

Watching this space.

Paranormal activities 2

Don't watch it if you have kids.
Do not say you were not warned

Occupy Nigeria 5

So I still did not have the liver to join the marching. Today we went foraging for an atm (you could have knocked me down with a feather when we hit the jackpot on our first go) and human contact.

Poolside at the Rad blu for something interesting to eat and a reason not to throw myself out of my ninth storey window.

So the rumours are flying fast and thick. Will they or wont they call off the strike by next week.

Thankfully I have discovered that Saturday and Sunday are going to be a protest free zone so I shall be making tracks to the shops. The boy ran out of shower gel a few days ago and has been bathing with a body scrub and Jo Malone bath oil concoction he created. Most importantly (God forgive me) I have just discovered that my salon is going to be open tomorrow so my butt is going to be in there having a mani pedi and hair treatment coz frankly I look hid at the moment.
Nothing has been resolved so nobody has further information on the situation.

What I know is that no resolution is going to mean even more strife for a people, who let’s face it, have learnt to smile under much adversity.

Occupy Nigeria day 4

Was supposed to post this yesterday but interner was kicking my ass

I am the most apolitical person one would ever find. On this though I think I have gots to agree with the people.

I don't think we are protesting about the subsidy in particular it's more like an ENOUGH already.

The average Nigerian is taxed to within an inch of his life in business and in the home. You have to be the provider of potable water, electricity (generator), security for your home. The mechanic is your best friend because your car spends so much time with him due to the deplorable state if the rds. I will not go on about the medical situation here nor can I hope to understand the full extent of the damage to my country the failed education system represents.

Upon all this "they" have come up with some trumped up reason for removing the fuel subsidy. Up until it was removed I have to admit I knew nothing about the whole thing (shame) but now I am tres upset about its removal, especially as I know for a fact that I am not going to see any improvement to my standard of living.

Basically it’s just taking the piss.

Now just to let you know how it has been for us on the ground.

It is very strange to be stuck at home all day every day. The roads are for the most parts empty. Traffic lights are off there is generally no noise coming from outside. Tres strange feeling basically.
My dad had a total go at me for not having enough provisions for the week. I am sure I was told the protest was just going to be for one day. So you can imagine my alarm on like Wednesday when we ran out of pancake syrup and soft drinks grrrrrr

I am one of the few who have not gone out to protest I must admit. Most of my friends, bless em, have been posting picture of themselves supporting the cause. Gotta admit I am tres impressed. I am afraid I probably have not had the liver because I still have not got enough trust in my fellow country man or the police. Unfortu too many tear gassed protestors on CNN have made an impression over the years.

So here I sit at home avec la familia, reading loads of rumours on my bb, watching the news in-between my addiction for Nickelodeons penguins of Madagascar and basically praying that my government is genuinely listening to the people.

We can't go on like this.
We are all exhausted.
It is time for change

Grrr the Kardashians

Mr Seacrest, I salute you. I don't know what the order of service is for others but this is how it's going down for us here in Lasgiddy.

We know Kim has separated from that funny looking chap she married. Seriously though he looks way too Neanderthal like for my liking, but love is blind or so I am told so...

Anyway we know it does not work out yet here we are watching the romance, with all the tell tale signs. I constantly find myself yelling "look behind you" coz seriously how did she not see he was a total fake.

Good old Khloe always the wise one and frankly my favourite of all the sister. Personally me thinks everyone should just listen to her.

I know what you are thinking, my whole country is on the verge of going down in a flaming ball of fire and I am busy waxing lyrical about the most irrelevant topic possible.

It’s all about the distraction men. Otherwise surely I would have to call it a day.

Fuel Prices

I am pissed. Enough said.

Happy New Year

I have no idea why I am writing this seeing as nobody really reads my blog but its New Year and for some reason I put this on my list.

I promised myself a few things, lemme list them for ya
1. Quit smoking
2. Get down to 9 1/2 stone (this involves going back to the gym and eating healthier)
3. Revive writing my blog
4. Register my company and behave like an adult and get back to work.

Some other boring tins I will not bore you with


I guess guilt got me whipping out my computer. The boy just came back with a calorie laden Indian takeout which I am struggling to digest as I write, I just came back from the balcony after a quick ciggie, so I figured, 3 days into my resolutions, I had better write something or I would have to consider myself a complete FAILURE.

Don't really have anything to say. I have been on my couch for the last 48 hours overwhelmed by the fact that somehow a whole year went by.

I have every intention of having many things to rant and rave about on this blog because at the very least I am going to be way more engaged in EVERYTHING.