Another Made in Africa Model - Kiara Kabukuru

Straight out of Uganda...I no go lie o, Uganda dey produce some fine models o!

Another Made in Africa Model - Camilla Barungi

Meet Camilla Barungi from Uganda. You might recognize her from Project Runway

Made in Africa - Super Models

Drink your garri and eat your vegetables O!




Peter Kortenhoven of Sierra Leone



Aminata Niaria of Senegal

Good African Men are Hard to Find or are they?

One of Cosmopolitan Magazine hottest Rhode Island Bachelors pick..



Rhode Island Bachelor 2008
Name: Feyisayo Oshinkanlu
Age: 25
Hometown: West Warwick
Cosmo Username: RHODEISLAND08
Occupation: Pharmaceutical-Sales Representative
In his own words: "I want the people in my life to be happy."
Chick trait he craves: "Being able to hold a conversation about anything — from the Muppets to Tchaikovsky."
Ideal first date: "I don't care, as long as it ends with a kiss."
Make-him-melt move: "Touch my back. I love that!"
Dating deal breaker: "If she puts herself down or disrespects others"
Sex on a first date? "Skanky"
Should women play hard to get? "Yes, but don't spend the whole relationship playing games."
Makeup or natural? "Natural. Women look their most beautiful when they haven't put on any makeup yet."

SOURCE: Cosmopolitan

last night at the CASRAM? event...

This year's CASRAM event has been nothing short of amazing. we'll have a full post, with more pictures sometimes next week. If you're in the DC area, come out tonight and tomorrow's grand finale. you won't be disappointed.

Can A Sista Rock A Mic? Festival (CASRAM 08) begins WEDNESDAY!

(click on image for a larger view)

4th Annual Can A Sista Rock A Mic? Festival(CASRAM 08)

Wednesday Oct 8 thru Saturday Oct 11

http://www.canasistarockamic.com

Why Kenyan women crave stones

Nancy Akoth is four months pregnant and like many women in her state has strange cravings.

Some women eat coal, gherkins or soap but Mrs Akoth craves soft stones, known in Kenya, where she lives, as "odowa".

"I just have this urge to eat these stones. I do very crazy things, I would even wake up at night and go looking for them," she told the BBC.

"I consulted my doctor and all he told me is that maybe I'm lacking iron and gave me medication on iron, but I still have the urge to eat those stones."

Luckily for Mrs Akoth, she is not alone in craving stones and they are easily found on sale in Nairobi's sprawling Gikomba market.

Among the fish-mongers and dealers in second-hand goods who flock to the market are traders who specialise in odowa.

Stone-seller Stephen Ndirangu unsurprisingly says women are his main customers.

"Most of them buy the stones to go and sell them to women who are pregnant," Mr Ndirangu says.

He says he sells one 90kg sack for about $6.

'Pleasant taste'

Although they are stones, they are too soft to break the teeth of Mrs Akoth and her fellow cravers.

Nutritionist Alice Ndong says the stones have a bland taste.

"It's a pleasant taste. It doesn't have a tangy flavour or a salty or a sugary flavour. It's a bit like eating flour," she told the BBC.


She says that because of their abrasive nature, the stones actually clean the teeth as the stone is chewed and the finer particles pass through the mouth.

However, she warns this should not be used as an excuse to eat the stones as the habit can also have harmful consequences.

"If somebody eats those stones and they don't take enough water, then they will actually get severe constipation… It can actually be very dangerous," she says.

"It can actually cause things like kidney damage and liver damage, if you don't take enough fluid because it will form a mass that cannot be excreted."

"When you eat these stones, it's like eating metal. The particles - because it's not food - are not digested as finely as fruits or vegetables," she says.

'Irresistible'

The phenomenon of craving non-food items like soil or soft stones is referred to as pica, a Latin word for magpie, the bird notorious for eating almost anything.

Researchers from the University of Nigeria interviewed 1,071 pregnant women attending a prenatal clinic at the Pumwani Maternity Hospital in Nairobi.

At least 800 of those interviewed said they ate soil, stones and other non-food items during their pregnancy.

But it is not only those who are pregnant who indulge in this habit.

Sylvia Moi still finds the soft stones irresistible, 14 years after she gave birth.

"I cannot do without it... Walking without it makes me feel bad, as if I'm lacking something [or] I'm hungry," Mrs Moi says.

She says she would like to quit the habit but just cannot stop herself.

"When you eat it you look awkward, people think: 'What is it that you lack in you that makes you eat that awkward stone,'" she says.

Infection

Experts say that the craving to eat odowa is largely due to a deficiency of vital minerals, like calcium, in the body.

"Unfortunately, these stones don't offer a lot of calcium. They offer some other forms of minerals like magnesium but not much calcium," says Mrs Ndong.

Research shows that these habits have negative side-effects on the women's health, ranging from parasitic infestations, anaemia and intestinal complications

"The problem with these stones is sometimes they're not hygienic. I remember up-country I've seen people just go somewhere, dig up and maybe people urinate in that spot," she says.

Experts warn pregnant women and others who enjoy eating odowa to try to ignore these cravings for the sake of their health.

The researchers say that the women are better off eating a balanced diet, than remaining hooked to the myth that their changing bodies need soft stones and soil.

SOURCE: BBC Africa

Sarah Hussein Obama laughs in Kenya as she receives congratulatory messages after her grandson, Barack Obama, accepted the US Democratic Party's nomination to run for president.

(picture via BBC)

The Nigerian man who has 86 wives

Sometimes its just so hard to say no.

The Nigerian man who has 86 wives

"A man with 10 wives would collapse and die, but my own power is given by Allah. That is why I have been able to control 86 of them," he told the BBC.

He says his wives have sought him out because of his reputation as a healer.

"I don't go looking for them, they come to me. I will consider the fact that God has asked me to do it and I will just marry them."

Family potrait



For the full story click here

Fashion Designer uses "African Print"

"African Print"...This na Ankara O!


"The lovely Kendra Smalter, operations manager for Z's Smile, modeled one of our favorite styles, the "Femi," a strapless dress with a clever selvedge edge on the pockets."

The "Femi"?


"...the dresses were a bestseller at Barney's, and the new White Label series is a higher-end extension for the boutique."

At Barney's? If there are any fashion designers in the house, lace hasn't caught on yet so you might want to get a head start :)

For the full article click here

Ivory Coast's 'big-bottom' craze

Have you read/seen what's going on in I.C.? It's no longer just a hollywood type thing. Our "bottoms" expert sent this to me the other day.

A national dance craze in Ivory Coast has spawned a black market in treatments claiming to increase one's bottom size.

The dance in question has been inspired by DJ Mix and DJ Eloh's hit song Bobaraba, which means "big bottom" in the local Djoula language.

Read more

check out this video...

Kenya's first lady slaps official over name gaffe

Kenya's first lady slapped a government official during an Independence Day celebration after he introduced her by the name of a woman widely believed to be President Mwai Kibaki's second wife, local media reported.

An official from the president's office made the gaffe introducing Lucy Kibaki to hundreds of guests during a State House garden party.

"Before he could finish, the First Lady rose from her seat at the dais, walked to him and slapped him on the face," the leading Daily Nation said.

Lucy Kibaki was reported to have been incensed when the official acting as master of ceremony introduced her as "Wambui".

Mary Wambui is a woman many Kenyans believe has been Kibaki's second wife for 30 years, despite repeated denials from State House.

"President Kibaki, the Vice-President Moody Awori, several cabinet ministers and members of the diplomatic corps watched in dismay as the drama unfolded," the Standard newspaper said.
A presidential press official said he could not immediately comment. A Daily Nation reporter said security agents forced the media group's cameraman to erase footage of the incident.

Lucy Kibaki was at the centre of a controversy in 2005 when cameraman Clifford Derrick accused her of slapping him when she stormed into a newsroom to protest her treatment by the media.

Derrick sued her for assault, but the case was later thrown out of court.

In 2004, she publicly upbraided Vice-President Awori for referring to her in a speech as the "second lady". Although Awori apologised, neither he nor Kibaki could mollify her.

The first lady's outburst is likely to cause the private, soft-spoken Kibaki some embarrassment as he seeks a second five-year term in December 27 elections.

The latest opinion polls show Kibaki, 76, trailing his main challenger, Raila Odinga.

Source.

Lola in Cambodia!

A friend (and Ariztos contributor) recently went to Cambodia in what she describes as her "most emotionally draining and inspiring trip so far." And she has travelled a lot! Read her note below.


I have seen how low man can go but also how high he can rise back upJust returned from Cambodia where I was fortunate to get behind the scenes of sex trafficking as a photojournalist. Visited a couple shelters which houses rescued victims, had a few discussions with local NGOs and a private investigator, as well as volunteered at the villages of Krang Yaw and Takeo.



A cruise along the Mekong, visits with monks, fried tarantulas, standoffs with monkeys, as well as an elephant ride capped off what has become my most emotionally draining and inspiring trip so far.Currently gathering my thoughts for upcoming blog posts at Matador Travel - http://matadortravel.com/travel-community/united+states/geotraveler/travel-blogIn the meantime, you can peruse my Cambodia gallery - http://www.lemurworks.com/lola/travel/cambodia/index.html

NY: "A Celebration of Sistas in Cinema, Art and Politics"

Click image for a larger view.

Alek Wek's book signing...

Went to Alek's book signing. There was also a local TV interview before the signing.



Yes...I had my book signed. Anyway, stay tuned for our own interview and a book review in the next issue of Ariztos.



Yes I got my book signed :-)

Alek Wek...Lady of the week ;-)

Ok...maybe I'm a bit obsessed...whatever!
Check out why she's my lady of the week...

Nigeria U-17 Champs

'Three is a magic number' goes the old song and FIFA U-17 World Cup Korea 2007 winners Nigeria are unlikely to disagree. The tournament has now been held three times on Asian soil and, having scaled the heights at China 1985 and Japan 1993, the Africans will now leave the continent with their third global crown. No doubt less than enamoured with the number three, opponents Spain have now reached three finals and tasted defeat in every single one.

Yemi Tella's Nigerians appeared potential candidates for the main prize right from the off, and were certainly not lacking in confidence. "We'll take the trophy back to Nigeria," announced the African champions' coach, and those words seem more than a little prophetic now. France, Japan, Haiti, Colombia, Argentina and Germany all fell by the wayside, unable to cope with tireless captain Lukman Haruna in midfield, technically-superb duo Rabiu Ibrahim and King Osanga and goal-scorer extraordinaire Macauley Chrisantus.

Read more...

P.s., Check out the Women's World Cup. Very little promotion...but the games are actually really good....and competitive.

ALEK: From Sundanes Refugee to International Supermodel.

We all know her story by now...



Washingtonians: Just got word from our girl Jaja that she'll be at Howard's Campus bookstore on September 19th. 4:30pm-6pm. Look for our "GQ" to be stalking her during those hours :)

We have a book review in our upcoming issue.

Top [African] Models on the cover of Ebony.

Speaking of magazine covers...



Iman & Alek, joined Tyra Banks and Kimora Lee on the latest issue of Ebony.

This issue covers the history and success of Blacks in fashion.