RunwayAfrica "Ambiguity" Event (pics)

will have more pics in the photogallery tomorrow.

SUFFERING AND SMILING (New York Premiere). Coming soon.

SUFFERING AND SMILING (New York Premiere)

Dan Ollman, Nigeria/US, 2007, 65m, video, doc, In English and Yoruba with English subtitles

Focusing on the legendary African singer and activist Fela Anikulapo Kuti and his son Femi, Suffering and Smiling depicts the impact of their politically charged music. Following Nigeria's independence in 1960, Fela used his songs to speak out against the country's corrupt leaders. Since independence the military and political elite have enriched themselves by allowing Nigeria's oil and natural resources to be stripped by multinational corporations with little benefit to ordinary Nigerians. Fela gave voice to Nigeria's disenfranchised underclass and sang of a free and united Africa. Upon his death in 1997, Femi has continued his father's legacy. Equally passionate and charismatic, he sings about the dire situation in his country, asks why the world's most resource-rich continent has the poorest people, and struggles to maintain a vision of better days ahead for the common people of Nigeria. *Presented in association with Film Aid International, http://www.filmaid.org/

SHOWTIMES:

Wed June 20: 2

Fri June 22: 4

Sat June 23: 9

Sun June 24: 1:30

Running from June 15 to 28 at the Walter Reade Theater, the 18th edition of the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival features 21 films and three shorts from 17 countries and includes 16 New York premieres. Tickets for the 2007 Human Rights Watch International Film Festival are available at both the Walter Reade Theater box office (212)875-5600 and online at http://www.filmlinc.com/

Nigerian author wins the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction

The 29-year-old becomes the youngest winner, and the first from Africa, to win for her novel Half A Yellow Sun, set in the 1960s Biafran civil war.

Both her grandfathers died in that conflict and she said: "This book is my refusal to forget."
She beat five other contenders for the £30,000 women-only award, including Kiran Desai, shortlisted for her Booker Prize winner The Inheritance of Loss.

Read more.

Essay Contest - $$$

Please take advantage.

Speaking of good magazines

Subscribe today!

Vanity Fair for AFRICA!

Vanity Fair did an historic 20 different covers issue, putting 21 famous faces doing something for Africa. Oprah, Obama, Madonna, etc....

Check out the current issue!

Africa's 24 hour news channel- CNBC

CNBC Africa.

summer music in NYC!!

I almost just pissed my pants with excitement!!!

SummerStage is here!!! It includes Zap Mama, Femi Kuti, film screening of Music is a Weapon, a bunch of Sudanese artists, some AfroReggae, Kidjo, K'Naan, Common, Joss Stone, etc....

JJ is already looking for a place to stay in NY for the summer!!

Anyway...look out for us covering some of the events. We might have a booth too.

Music/Femi+Summer=Smiling Ariztos

Yeah...we're [music] geeks. We're just happy it's summer. This year, again, promises to be great with concerts.

Femi Kuti is on tour!!

Africa’s Storied Colleges, Jammed and Crumbling

Africa’s best universities, the grand institutions that educated a revolutionary generation of nation builders and statesmen, doctors and engineers, writers and intellectuals, are collapsing. It is partly a self-inflicted crisis of mismanagement and neglect, but it is also a result of international development policies that for decades have favored basic education over higher learning even as a population explosion propels more young people than ever toward the already strained institutions.

Read more.

No love for the big girls...at home??

Christy just sent this to me. Interesting...


African models wrestle with size schism Skinny African girls may get to strut on Western catwalks, but the fat ones have to stay at home. This is the message being delivered to the 500 or so Ghanaians who have registered with the country's only international modeling agency, Exopa.

Read more...

Africa is growing, economically!?!

African economic growth is set to reach nearly 6% in 2007, the highest in 20 years, according to the African Development Bank (AfDB).

Overseas demand from China and other rapidly-growing nations for natural resources, including oil, has been a cause for growth, the bank said.

The data was issued at the bank's annual meeting, being hosted by China.

The region's economy grew by 5.5% in 2006, with South Africa, Nigeria and Algeria among the strongest nations.

Read more...

Perhaps this "growth" will trickle down to Africans(???)

Special screening on May 19th.

African inspire clothing at Banana Republic...

Banana Republic.

I mean, we all know a lot of these designers are getting there inspiration from Africa. It's good that some are actually saying it!

Trying to find out what was going on with this crash on the tele over the weekend. But Ms Paris Hilton's jail sentence dominated the news. Anyway, no survivors in the Cameroon crash. Sadly!

Bob Johnson: "Black Americans have a responsibility to support Liberia"

U.S. Billionaire Calls for More American Engagements

The Analyst (Monrovia)

NEWSApril 27, 2007 Posted to the web April 27, 2007 By J. Edwood Dennis

African-American billionaire, Mr. Robert L. Johnson, who led a 25-member delegation to Liberia early this week, left here wednesday with the impression of huge potentials for investment in the post-war economy.

Members of the delegation included Oscar winning actress Cicely Tyson, former Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater, scholar and educator Walter Leonard, among others.

Mr. Johnson has announced a US$30M loan program to assist Liberian-owned businesses to boost private sector investment following 14 years of civil conflict.

He said the money would be managed by RLJ Liberia Enterprise Development Fund, announced on February 15 in Washington DC at the Partners Forum.

Addressing a news conference in Monrovia before his departure, Mr. Johnson disclosed that the Liberian government has licensed his group of companies to invest in Liberia and he has already begun to receive applications from several individuals and institutions for small loan purposes.

He dispelled news speculation that his visit to Liberia is a showbiz adding, "It is aimed at helping Liberians to have access to job opportunities through investment in the private sector".

Read more...

A new Nigerian Nightmare in the NFL, Amobi Okoye

Amobi Okoye was walking at 7 months old and by 1he amused himself by pushing dining chairs across the kitchenfloor.So it seems normal to his mother, Edna Okoye, that her19-year-old "baby boy," picked 10th by Houston, would be theyoungest player taken in the first round of the NFL draft since themerger."From the time I had him he has been ahead of everything he hasto do," Edna said Sunday after the defensive tackle fromLouisville was introduced in Houston.Okoye started high school at age 12 and was enrolled atLouisville by 16. He earned a degree in psychology in just 3 and 1/2 years while becoming a leader on Louisville's defense.He lived in Nigeria until the age of 12 and didn't know muchabout football before moving to the United States.

Read more.

DC: Angélique Kidjo performing on May 17.

Heard a preiview of her new album...grammy award winning Angelique Kidjo did not disappoint!

Check out the Lisner for more information about the concert.

Luol Deng, from Sudan, just helped sweep current NBA champions!

All of a sudden, Luol Deng is the quiet, real quiet, talk of the NBA. If you listen closely -- on the streets of Chicago, in the bars on South Beach, in Hoop this month, SI this week, as afterthoughts on Fox Sports, before commercial breaks on TNT -- you can hear his name creepin' up on everyone the same way his game has on those who chose to play dumb … not stupid, but as if this wasn't going to happen.

Read more...

Nigeria's new president...Umaru Yar'Adua

I'm sure Nigerians, and people following the roller coaster politics in Nigeria and other African countries, have heard about the apparent new president of Nigeria...Yar'Adua.

He gained 70% of the vote but European Union observers say the elections were a "charade" and any administration that resulted would not have any legitimacy.

We all know the risk of political protests, which the oppositions are calling for, so please keep Nigeria in your prayers. And hopefully, soon enough, we all can move on to building Nigeria...and Africa as a whole.

Pics..

And if you're on facebook, I could use a few friends :)

http://american.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2054348&l=aacbf&id=7412196

http://american.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2054349&l=0bd52&id=7412196

speaking of which.....

we're on myspace too... www.myspace.com/ariztos . send a message, and add me. please.

Madonna back in Malawi

with her daughter.




just visiting. rumor has it she's trying to adopt a girl.

Les Nubians

the concert.

the reception

All African-Americans can become citizens?

The African Union is proposing to give full citizenship to Black Americans in 2008. The concept has been under discussion for the past 4 years. The proposal was again discussed last year in Abuja at the 7th Leon H. Sullivan Summit and so far 12 countries have agreed to participate including Nigeria.

Read more.

Frostburg ASA Event.

Frostburg State University, thanks for inviting us to your 3rd annual African Students Association's event. We had a blast...and we couldn't be any more proud of you.

The rest of of the pics will be uploaded in the photogallery later...and even more pictures will be in the up coming issue.