Circumspecte

Inspired by Ntozake Shange's Somebody Almost Walked Off With Alla My Stuff in "For Colored Girls (Who Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Was Enough)". See: http://africaknows.com/mu/blog/2010/01/destroyed-illegal-settlements-4/ Disclaimer: It's meant to be a parody, so please, don't take it too seriously lol. [Originally posted on Facebook on Nov. 8] -- Somebody tried to walk away with alla my stuff Expected me to sit there, smile sweetly, and just GIVE them alla my stuff Figured since they'd done it time and again, it would be as easy as pie Ha! Little did they know they had another thing comin' Somebody tried to walk away with alla my stuff But THIS time, I chased them down that street and beat them on the head Latched my non-existent claws into their shoulders and hang on for dear life Balled my fists into sledgehammers and hammer away I did For the first time, second, and oh for thinkn' there would be a third Somebody tried to walk ...

Thought I was done blogging for the day -- until I came across this BBC photo feature on Ghana's market girls or "kayayo". When I was back in Ghana, I would occasionally go to the Madina market in Accra with my mum and I remember seeing them every time. I often wondered why they weren't in school, why they were doing what they do and why they didn't bargain how much money was paid them. My mum would lament about their situations and each time she patronized their service she would ask them how come they were doing what they did. Unlike my mum, most patrons of the Kayayo's services are not as considerate and don't think twice about having them carry things twice their weight! This is a very sensitive topic to me, because the way I see it, a twist of fate, and I could have been one. I've been meaning to blog on this issue, but somehow it escaped me. Not about to let that opportunity slip by again. Alors, voila. Here's a youtube slideshow (by the s...

What does it mean to be a woman? That question might seem out of the blue, but given the whole gender saga concerning South Africa's 18-year old 800m athlete Caster Semenya, I think it's a pretty valid one. Many women would have numerous responses to that question, as would many men. It could range from descriptions of a woman's physique "...It means you have curves, breasts, annoying cramps, etc..." to observations on the emotional state "...Women are sensitive, emotional, caring, loving...", to allusions to women's roles "...She'll most likely have children one day, be a wife, take care of a household...", or it could come down to qualities "...She's strong, dignified, compassionate..." I googled "what does it mean to be a woman?" and came across some responses on Yahoo Answers (I absolutely love google and yahoo answers lol). Here are some of the responses: - From cloeen: "To love people! Help teach my ch...