African Cup of Nations: Live from Ghana.

Okay...maybe not live from Ghana (I can wish right?). Went to the barber shop over in DC to watch the opening match of the African Nation's Cup- Ghana vs. Guinea. Ghana won, 2-1.

So far it's been an interesting tournament.

Nigeria lost to Ivory Coast, 0-1
Nambia lost to Morocco, 1-5 (yikes!!)
Mali beat Benini, 1-0 (that penalty wasn't called for, was it?)
Sudan lost to Zambia, 0-3
Egypt beat Cameroon, 4-2
Tunisia and Senegal tied, 2-2
South Africa and Angola also tied, 1-1

To watch the final match (February 10th) at the Ariztos ACN party in DC, email walea[at]ariztos.com for passes.

The rest of the schedule:

Thursday, 24 January 2008
Ghana v Namibia, A, 19:30
Guinea v Morocco, A, 17:00
Friday, 25 January 2008
Ivory Coast v Benin, B, 17:00
Nigeria v Mali, B, 19:30
Saturday, 26 January 2008
Cameroon v Zambia, C, 17:00
Egypt v Sudan, C, 19:30
Sunday, 27 January 2008
Senegal v Angola, D, 17:00
Tunisia v South Africa, D, 19:30
Monday, 28 January 2008
Ghana v Morocco, A, 17:00
Guinea v Namibia, A, 17:00
Tuesday, 29 January 2008
Ivory Coast v Mali, B, 17:00
Nigeria v Benin, B, 17:00
Wednesday, 30 January 2008
Cameroon v Sudan, C, 17:00
Egypt v Zambia, C, 17:00
Thursday, 31 January 2008
Senegal v South Africa, D, 17:00
Tunisia v Angola, D, 17:00
Sunday, 03 February 2008
Winner Group A v Runner-up Gp B, Quarter Final,
Winner Group B v Runner-up Gp A, Quarter Final,
Monday, 04 February 2008
Winner Gp C v Runner-up Gp D, Quarter Final,
Winner Gp D v Runner-up Gp C, Quarter Final,
Thursday, 07 February 2008
Winner Q/F 1 v Winner Q/F 4, Semi-Final,
Winner Q/F 2 v Winner Q/F 3, Semi-Final,
Saturday, 09 February 2008
Loser SF1 v Loser SF2, 3rd and 4th Place Play-Offs,
Sunday, 10 February 2008
Winner SF1 v Winner SF2, Final.

You want to see some of our old issues?

Ok, no problem!


We are actively working on our website...but we decided to put some of our past issues online. Please check them out by going to the archives section.

We honor you, Martin Luther King

Today, to celebrate Dr. King's memory, I hope we all try to perform some act of kindness through service to others.

For at least today.

In case you never heard the I have a Dream speech, check it out below

Hit us with good music.

We've been listening to some incredible music lately (I'll share some of them tomorrow). Please let us know what's good out there...what African [inspired] music are you listening to?

Help Kenyans/Extra Golden

(photo by Joshua Wildman)

Three members of Kenyan/DC benga band Extra Golden are currently in need of help. Because of a rigged election, there has been an almost constant stream of rioting, causing massive destruction and destroying clubs, with curfews imposed on the ones that remain, preventing these musicians from performing and making money to support their families. Clearly this is not a great situation for Opiyo Bilongo, Onyango Wuod Omari, Onyango Jagwasi, and the countless other Kenyans who are forced into unlivable circumstances because of the rioting and political unrest. American Extra Golden members Ian Eagleson and Alex Minoff are doing everything they can to help their bandmates, and have asked for donations that will go directly to the other members.

Sources says things are getting better there. But nothing official.

Read the full information, and how you can help, at Extra Golden's website.

P.s., we're currently looking for other ways we can help our other brothers and sisters caught up it the mess in Kenya.

Interesting: wedding cake is a full-size likeness of bride.

Did anyone go to this wedding in Dallas, TX?

Wedding Cake portrait?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

We spent most of the holiday working, partying, planning, and re-planning the incredibly tremendous year ahead. We are bringing back some music from the motha'land. We got to preview some quality films. And so many other things.

And we've made some (and still making) some additions to the Ariztos family.

Stay tuned.

Very important this year- please think of at least one way to make Africa better this year. We're not completely off to a good start as a nation because of the politics. But I know (and pray) that things will get better.

Kenya leader names new ministers (as everyone is still calling FOUL PLAY)

Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki has named new ministers, just before Ghana's leader arrived as part of mediation efforts following disputed elections.

Mr Kibaki named Kalonzo Musyoka, who came third in last month's election, as vice-president but no-one from the main opposition party was appointed.

A BBC correspondent says the move could derail the efforts of Ghana's John Kufuor, who heads the African Union.

Violence broke out in opposition strongholds following the announcement.

Some 600 people have died in a wave of clashes across the country, after the opposition said the election had been rigged.

Read more.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday period.

We, at Ariztos, wish you all a very merry christmas...and a happy new year in advance.

We have so much planned for 2008 and can't wait to share it with you.

:-)

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.

World Aids Day

World Aids Day was marked on December 1st. I thought I'd just post a little quote from Mr. Mandela from a speech during an event in South Africa.

"The trend is encouraging but still for every person receiving treatment four others are newly infected. If we are to stop the Aids epidemic from expanding, we need to break the cycle of new HIV infections. All of us working together with government, communities and civil society can make the difference that is needed."

Let us all do our part.

Akon...going to jail?

Akon is facing criminal charges after a fan said she suffered a concussion when the hip-hop star tossed a teenager off the stage and onto her in the concert crowd.

Akon, 34, is scheduled to appear in Fishkill Town Court on Monday morning for arraignment on a misdemeanor charge of endangering the welfare of a minor, and second-degree harassment, a violation, according to a news release Thursday from Police Chief Donald Williams.

Audience members said that a spectator lobbed something at Akon and that the singer asked the crowd to point out the culprit. A security guard picked out a 15-year-old and sent him up to the stage, where Akon hoisted him onto his shoulders and flung him into the crowd.

The boy landed on Abby Rosa, who told the Poughkeepsie Journal she was later found to have a concussion. She said she has hired a lawyer and spoken to Fishkill police.

Read the rest here.

Happy Holidays...

I hope everyone (in the U.S.) enjoyed the thanksgiving break.

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

Wharton African Business Forum 2007

The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
3730 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA

For details, visit: http://www.whartonglobal.com/africa/index.html

The Wharton Africa Business Forum (WABF) is an integral component of the Wharton Global Business Forum, the pre-eminent business school event addressing the major economic, social and political trends affecting Africa, Asia, Europe, India and Latin America. Over 1,300 participants from around the world converge at Wharton every year to drive discussions on business issues and developments around the globe.

'$100 laptop' begins production

According to BBC News...

Mass production of the so-called $100 laptop has begun, five years after the concept was first proposed.

Computer manufacturer Quanta has started building the low-cost laptops at a factory in Changshu, China.

One Laptop per Child (OLPC), the group behind the project, said that children in developing countries would begin receiving machines this month
Last month, OLPC received its first official order for 100,000 machines from the government of Uruguay.

"Today represents an important milestone in the evolution of the One Laptop per Child project," said Nicholas Negroponte, founder of OLPC.

The organisation had reached the critical stage despite "all the naysayers," he said.

Home-made helicopters hit northern Nigeria

I needed this thing this morning with the crazy traffic!!

KANO (AFP) - Mubarak Muhammad Abdullahi, a 24-year-old physics undergraduate in northern Nigeria, takes old cars and motorbikes to pieces in the back yard at home and builds his own helicopters from the parts.

"It took me eight months to build this one," he said, sweat pouring from his forehead as he filled the radiator of the banana yellow four-seater which he now parks in the grounds of his university.

The chopper, which has flown briefly on six occasions, is made from scrap aluminium that Abdullahi bought with the money he makes from computer and mobile phone repairs, and a donation from his father, who teaches at Kano's Bayero university.

It is powered by a second-hand 133 horsepower Honda Civic car engine and kitted out with seats from an old Toyota saloon car. Its other parts come from the carcass of a Boeing 747 which crashed near Kano some years ago.

For a four-seater it is a big aircraft, measuring twelve metres (39 feet) long, seven metres high by five wide. It has never attained an altitude of more than seven feet.

Read more

Sad sad news: Lucky Dube shot dead!

JJ just sent this to me:

From BBC News:

Fans across the world are mourning the South African reggae star, Lucky Dube, who has been shot dead.

He was dropping his teenage son and daughter off in a Johannesburg suburb when he was attacked by car thieves.

Local radio stations have been flooded with tearful callers expressing outrage at the murder and renewing demands that the authorities act to curtail crime.

South Africa's leader paid tribute to him and called on people to "confront this terrible scourge of crime".

Alongside Bob Marley, Lucky Dube was thought of as one of the great reggae artists - singing about social problems.

He was also one of the apartheid regime's most outspoken critics.

Read more...

Blog of the week- Awesome Tapes from Africa

I've been going through the blog, Awesome Tapes from Africa, for like a week now (which explains my lack of work productivity). Check it out...

"Ex-child soldier raps about hellish life"

My dreams are like torment, My every moment.
Voices of my brainOf friends that were slain,Friends who died by my side of starvationIn the burning jungle and the desert plain.But Jesus heard my cryI was tempted to eat the rotten flesh of my comrade.

JJ sent me his story on CNN.

Another "Rumble in the Jungle?"

I don't understand the tighty-whites neither, but I saw this on BBC this morning.

The organiser of "The Rumble in the Jungle", one of the world's greatest boxing fights, says he would like a similar contest in Africa again.

Don King made the famous fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in 1974 happen, in what was then called Zaire.
"Without a question of a doubt I have to go back to the motherland," the US boxing promoter told the BBC.

He made the comments as Nigeria's Samuel Peter looks to defend his World Heavyweight Boxing Championship title.
King said that Peter may be considered for a future WBC fight in Africa.

But first, he said, the Nigerian boxer had to defend his title against US opponent Jameel McCline, in New York's Madison Square Garden on Saturday.

King told the BBC's Network Africa programme that a victory by Peter would make both Nigeria and the African continent proud "and the world will be respectful for a great champion".

The 1974 fight, in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo, saw Ali make a comeback by defeating Foreman, the reigning heavyweight champion.

Mandela announces new South African HIV/Aids gig

Source BBC News:

Former South African president Nelson Mandela has announced an international concert to be held for World Aids Day in Johannesburg on 1 December.

The aim is to raise awareness about HIV/Aids in a country with one of the world's highest HIV prevalence rates

More than five million people are HIV positive in South Africa.

Fifty thousand people are expected at the Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg. More than 30 local and international artists will be performing.

For the past four years, Nelson Mandela has allowed his old prison number 46664 to be used as a banner in the fight against HIV/Aids.

Several 46664 concerts have been held around the world and Mr Mandela said 46664 would continue to organise major events to highlight the problem.

"I am very delighted that we are engaging the youth in schools, communities and through the media, breaking the silence and stigmas around HIV and Aids, and making them realise that the power to beat the pandemic, lies in their own hands," he said.

Since his retirement from politics, Mr Mandela has thrown himself into the struggle against Aids with determination.

In 2005, the cause took on a tragic personal dimension for him when his only surviving son, Makgato, died of Aids.

African design(er)s...

First, rubber sandals idea is gone (for those of you Africans that grew up in Africa, you know what I'm talking about). Now big named designers are using African prints?




Sade found this online.

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

Click image for a larger view.

african movies continues to grow...fast

Dey-dey is still addicted to African films. Apparently, so are folks in Florida. Toks sent this to me this morning...



FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.—They’ve never walked along the dusty roads of Lagos, Nigeria, or set foot in an extravagant mansion in Ghana.

But fans of African movies now being sold in South Florida say they find themselves glued to their screens because in so many ways, the faraway continent feels so familiar.

“It’s everything from the drapes hanging at the entrance door in the kitchen to the way people go down on their knees before saying good morning to their elders,” said Hermante Leonard, who sees similarities to her Haitian culture in the movies.

Here's the full article.

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 :-)

Wale!!

Someone sent me this picture of Wale with Ms. Hilton at the VMAs. Dude is having some well deserved fun....I mean if your name is Wale...

Oh...and happy birthday Wale. Invite us to the party too!

Check out his latest- "Nike Boots."

NTA - 5th Public Lecture

Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria Chukwuma Soludo will be in attendance .

Venue:6400 Ivy LaneGreenbelt, MD 20770

@ 5pm!

Runway Africa 2007 (some pics)

Thanks to everyone that came to support Runway Africa 2007. Stay tuned for exclusive pictures and interviews in the next issue of Ariztos.

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.

Bill Clinton- "Giving: How each of us can change the world."

Bill Clinton's new book is out. "Giving" is an inspiring look at how each of us can change the world. First, it reveals the extraordinary and innovative efforts now being made by companies and organizations -- and by individuals -- to solve problems and save lives both "down the street and around the world." Then it urges us to seek out what each of us, "regardless of income, available time, age, and skills," can do to help, to give people a chance to live out their dreams.

Bill Clinton shares his own experiences and those of other givers, representing a global flood tide of nongovernmental, nonprofit activity. These remarkable stories demonstrate that gifts of time, skills, things, and ideas are as important and effective as contributions of money. From Bill and Melinda Gates to a six-year-old California girl named McKenzie Steiner, who organized and supervised drives to clean up the beach in her community, Clinton introduces us to both well-known and unknown heroes of giving. Among them:

Dr. Paul Farmer, who grew up living in the family bus in a trailer park, vowed to devote his life to giving high-quality medical care to the poor and has built innovative public health-care clinics first in Haiti and then in Rwanda; a New York couple, in Africa for a wedding, who visited several schools in Zimbabwe and were appalled by the absence of textbooks and school supplies. They founded their own organization to gather and ship materials to thirty-five schools. After three years, the percentage of seventh-graders who pass reading tests increased from 5 percent to 60 percent;' Oseola McCarty, who after seventy-five years of eking out a living by washing and ironing, gave $150,000 to the University of Southern Mississippi to endow a scholarship fund for African-American students; Andre Agassi, who has created a college preparatory academy in the Las Vegas neighborhood with the city's highest percentage of at-risk kids. "Tennis was a stepping-stone for me," says Agassi. "Changing a child's life is what I always wanted to do"; Heifer International, which gave twelve goats to a Ugandan village. Within a year, Beatrice Biira's mother had earned enough money selling goat's milk to pay Beatrice's school fees and eventually to send all her children to school -- and, as required, to pass on a baby goat to another family, thus multiplying the impact of the gift.

the African "white man" rocks rebel north!

In an attempt to explain his sudden love for rock music, JJ sent me this article...

In a country which couldn't care less about rock music, Ivory Coast's "white man" is up against huge obstacles.

Kutchala Sutchi is a rock star - well, a rock musician anyway.

This summer, Ivory Coast's "white man" has been playing gigs all over the north of the country, controlled by New Forces rebels, as part of a tour organised by the Ivorian musicians' union to promote national unity.

Read more.

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.

Happy Labor Day!