Sean Paul feat. Santana - Cry baby Cry

I know this video is a bit old but I just had to blog my favourite song in the new Santana album. Santana rocks!

Went to watch The Holiday last Sunday, and well what can I say, it was just a typical romance. I at least thought it well be hilarious because Jack Black is on it but I think I kinda smiled once or twice. I did shake my head a lot at how totally unrealistic it is. With this movie you really have to leave your head at the door.

One thing that really annoyed me was the Cameron and Jude Law story. Came on! Who in their right minds like seeing two genetically blessed peeps getting it on? It was nauseating. I'm really not a Jude Law fan, but I have to admit that that man is beautiful.

The story that I could sit through without fidgeting and feeling sick was the Kate and Jack story. Jack feels and looks more real then Jude and Kate was fantastic as Iris, the jilted English girl.

All in all, it's a movie that one can only survive seeing once.

SNL - Homelessville

Justin is actually funny in this skit.

It's that time of the year when shops are fill to capacity and people are spending money that they don't have. Yes folks, it's the Holidays. I really don't like Christmas and every time it nears December my body always tenses up. I guess it has to do with my hatred for Christmas songs. Every where you go that is ALL you hear and it makes me want to scream and tear down some Christmas trees. But alas, there is nothing I can do except say Merry Christmas.

It was with mixed feelings when I heard the judgement from the Basarwa versus Government case. I can understand the Basarwas need to go back to the place where they grew up, but when that place has nothing to offer you anymore I wonder if it is a good idea and ain't they being just a tad bit foolish.

When the Basarwas heard the judgement they were dancing and singing, but I wonder if it has sunk in yet that, yes they can go back, but Government doesn't have to give them the services that they have gotten used to. In the end, in my opinion, The Botswana Government has won. They are not obliged to help the Basarwas in CKGR. They don't even have to pay for they legal fees and bare in mind this court case has been going on for years and most of these people don't have jobs.

Baswaras will greatly suffer if they don't get Government's help. The CKGR is in a desert area where there is little or no water. The next town is extremely far for people to go and buy food and other necessities. It is really in the middle of nowhere and the fact that SI was fighting to return these people to nothing really boils my blood. Who knows what stories they were told by these organisation when the case was still on. Now they are going to have to face the consequences. The Government was simply trying to bring Basarwas closer to bigger towns where they could enjoy the services given to every Motswana. Because they were so far, bring those services to them was very costly. Since the Government provides free ARV treatment to every HIV sufferer, pays for school from primary to tietery level for every Motswana, you would see why they needed to reduce cost where they could, while bringing Basarwa closer to social developments.

Prior to the relocation, Government provided services like food rations, water, health facilities and transportation of children to and from school outside the reserve and these services cost government more than P55 000 per month and now these services are gone with the government not obliged to restore them to the residents of CKGR. So how pry tell SI would the Basarwas survive without those government hand-outs?

The Basarwas lawyer, Gordon Bennett, said that the Basarwas should decide,even if it meant resuming a 'simple existence as hunter-gatherers'. WHAT!!! In this day and age, does he really think that people could survive and make something of themselves through that existence? How would they take their kids to school if they can't pay for a bus? How would they afford necessities without money? I mean they is NO money and improvement in life by being a hunter-gatherer. They only thing is being a spectacle for Western tourist.

Roy Sesana,the leader in this case and the fellow in bed with SI was extremely happy about the result. But he doesn't even live in the CKGR. Thanks to the pounds given to him by SI, he has a lovely expensive car and a huge house in the capital city Gaborone and his children are driven to expensive English medium schools in Gaborone. He doesn't even know what it is like waiting for water at the reserve and he said he was happy for 'his people'. How is he going to help 'his people' get food, water or access to health facilities when he only thinks about them when it comes to putting his face in papers and travelling to places like London and USA.

The Government announced last night that the residents moving back to the CKGR will have to apply for special permits to kill wildlife. People moving in and out of the reserve will have to apply for permits. Animals, like cattle are not permitted to move in or out of the reserve. You have to get permission to bring water into the reserve. And only people of the CKGR are permitted to come into the CKGR. So really what victory did they receive?

Mr Bennett said that the Basarwas were not really interested in Government services but I wonder if that would still be the case when they arrive to nothing.

I never thought I was a romantic at heart. I always assumed that I was very critical when it came to things of the heart, but recently after spending most of my time watching clips of my all time favourite movie on youtube, I realised that I believed in romance and, dare I say it, a soulmate.

Kuch kuch hota hai is that movie. A bollywood movie that was a massive in 1998. My friends and I used to spend our Saturdays at the TV room at hostel watching this movie with my friend Shreya translating it for us. We must have watched it four or five times.

It's a movie about unrequited love that is finally returned in the end. I know most of you will sneer at this, but some of us who have been through the heartache of unrequited love, it's nice to dream that one day that love will be returned. My one-sided love happened in my finally year of undergraduate study. Instead of focusing on my studies, I spend nights pining, if that's the word, for a person who only thought of me as a friend. Gosh how sad, even thinking about it now pains the heart. But that's the great thing about movies. You could always lose yourself in fantasy when reality seems so harsh.

Kuch Kuch Hota Hai Sad

I was ecstatic to find this scene in youtube. This is my favourite movie of all time. This scene just kills me I just had to blog it. These two actors are the best in Bollywood and putting them together in a movie is a sure way of getting a hit.

While I was out shopping on Saturday afternoon, I happened to pass a trendy teenager wearing a cap bearing Che Guevara's image . Now this trend of wearing t-shirts or caps bearing this image has been something that has bothered me since the days of University. Most of the people who have worn his image are (I'm assuming) people who have no idea who he is and what he stood for. In University, the kids were all from wealthy families who drove the latest car and the t-shirt (with his face) cost an arm and a leg.

Now I'm not saying I'm against their wealth, but against the way this trend seems to belittle the ideals that this man fought and died for. Che Guevara died fighting capitalism and now his very face is used to sell everything under the sun e.g. CDs, swatches, beer, keychains, rafts and believe it or not ice-cream. One company slapped the likeness of Che's image on an ice-cream stick called Cherry Guevara. The copy on the wrapper read:'The revolutionary struggle of the cherries was squashed as they were trapped between two layers of chocolate. May their memory live on in your mouth.' If that's not blunt disregard of one man's struggle than I don't know what is.

The image that they slap on almost anything was from a picture taken at a rally in Cuba, organized to protest an explosion in Havana harbor in which more than 100 people died in early March 1960. Che never spoke at the protest but he stood on the podium to show his support. Now that stance of defiance is sold as something kitch. The Washingtonpost, while writing a report on this phenomenon, asked the sites that sold his image why Che was so popular and they replied: 'He's a rebel, and along with rebel comes the cool factor and trendiness'. Well never mind his cause!

It's really sad that the world could take this man who gave everything up to fight the injustice that he saw and make him into a 'rebel without a cause.'

It was very disheartening to read in news24 this morning about this poor little girl who was burned in the hands by her parents.

The news site wrote that the little girl, aged five, had never even received toys or gifts in her life. Her mother and stepfather had thought she had stolen 30 cents, just 30 cents and had forced her to put her hands on a hotplate and then hit her while her hands were still on the hotplate.

The police received an anonymous phone call about a girl walking around with burns on her hands. The police reported that the bandages found on her where put on by the neighbours and not even the parents. Can you believe it! The neighbours knew about this and probably all the other abuses and never even called the police, and the one person who did was not even brave enough to leave a name. When the police found her the wounds on her hands were already going septic and was taken to the hospital. While at the hospital, she told them that her parents beat her all the time.

There is another news story in news24 about a murder of a four year old boy by the lover of his mother. The mother and her lover were sentenced for his death last week.

I know you can't temper with any one's right to being a parent but they are just some people who should not be allowed to be parents. I don't understand how someone can stand to see her child in pain, a pain caused by them. Obviously the girl's parents knew that what they had done was wrong because they didn't take her to the hospital.

In the other case, both murderers were women so you can't say that a woman is more nurturing and loving, or that she can't control what a man does to her children, but it's all bull. The hatred that one can have for one's child is very mind-boggling.

I sometimes wonder after reading about child abuse, what we can do as a society to stop this. I for one believe that first of all the neighbours were also abusing the girl because they knew about the abuse and they did nothing about it. If we as a society stand up and act when we see abuse and stop the parents or parent then that would be a stepping stone to ridding society of this evil. Also I think, and I know that this will probable be controversy, that parents who have been proven to be abusers should never be allowed to be parents again. Either to the abused child and to other unborn children. I believe this behaviour comes from within them and will never go away so children should never be raised by them.

According to tmz, Beyonce and Jay 'the man' are getting married this weekend. Apparently it is a birthday party (for Jay-z) /wedding.

Guests were told to pack passports for partying in a yacht (lucking them) in St. Barts and then a wedding at Tony resort Cap Juluca in Anguilla.

Gosh, what I would give to have a wedding in some Island resort. But of coz I need to find a man first. Jay-z may be the 'greatest rapper in the world' but those lips...Beyonce you're a brave woman.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Tony Blair issued a statement of regret at Britain's role in the slave trade. He stopped short of making a formal apology because this will open up claims of reparations from slave descendants.

Campaigners said his statement does not go far enough and have called for a full disclosure of facts and compensation for the families of African people who were sold for slavery.

After reading the news item, I went to Have Your Say and was astonished at the British attitudes to this expression of 'sorrow' and the apology. Some were going on that slavery happened 200 years ago so why should Britain apologies for something that happened so long ago. And some were saying British people should be happy that Britain was the first country to abolish slavery not apologies, and some were saying why do people only concentrated on Black slavery what about the slavery within Britain under Romans and Vikings. Well, the word I would use from reading the posts will be 'shocked'. The racist comments from these 'liberal' people was utterly shocking. But I wasn't surprised, these comments are part of the legacy left by slavery. The thought that these people do not know what it's like to have been under some one's thumb made me angry towards their attitude.

People, mostly people of European descendant are against apologising for slavery because they are afraid of reparation, economic reparation. The thought of them handing out money to Black descendants leaves them shaking in their boots. But they have to admit that slavery and colonialism played a role in the economic development of their country. Businesses, banks to be more exact, profited from the slave trade. African societies were ransacked and new societies were built on the labour and lives of Africans. Slavery and colonialism were carried out for the economic enrichment of Europe and its descendants. So these people who are crying out that they did not have anything to do with slavery and so should not apologise are enjoying the fruits of slave labour.

Stephen Smith said on an online discussion that 'refusing to give an apology is denying responsibility as a nation and serves to re-enforce racial divisions' and I agree. Racial attitudes and mindsets originated from slavery. It was these mindset that also created colonialism, where European countries saw Africa and Africans as mere objects to use and exploit. 'Slave mentality' that Bob Marley sings about in his redemption song derives from slavery. So surely people could see that repercussions of slavery still run deep today so to brush it away as something that happened 200 years ago is foolish and very detrimental.

An apology could be a starting point for people who benefited from slavery and colonisation to build bridges with the victims (slave descendants) of this brutality because living descendants of slaves have not forgotten that slavery existed. Africans have not forgotten that colonialism existed and we still celebrate our independence every year (Botswana's Independence is on the 30 September).

But I must admit some had a point in pointing out that some African chiefs had a hand in selling their people to the slave traders and this needs a proper evaluation of why people would exploit their own. And if reparations are ever made will their descendants pay they price.

lupe fiasco ft jill scott daydreamin

Man, this song is sooo sick!Lupe is such a lyricist and Jill brings this song to another level.

LUPE FIASCO, 'KICK, PUSHING' HIMSELF INTO THE HIP-HOP HALL OF FAME

At last, someone who has something to say! These days I've been sick and tired of the materialistic and sexist 'hip-hop' that has dominated MTV and the radio in these recent times. Artist like Mos Def, Nas and Talib Kweli are far and few and instead we are bombarded by people who have nothing to say but how many cars, houses and women they have. But finally Lupe Fiasco has landed in our shores.

Chicagobased Muslim MC Lupe Fiasco began rapping in Junior High School and joined a group called Da Pak. The group signed to Epic, released one single and split up. L.A. Reid signed Fiasco as a solo artist to Arista, but was fired (Reid) before anything of significance happened. Fiasco eventually landed at Atlantic Records where his debut album 'food and liquor' was released. He appeared in Kanye West's ''Touch the Sky' where he outshone Kanye with his metaphor based lyrics.

Boy can this guy write. He is poetry in motion just like J. Ivy. His lyrics flow and ebb and his storytelling is evident in his first single 'kick, push', a song about a love of skateboarding (something he has in common with Pharrel, who produced one of his songs in the album). One music review said the song is a 'unique song that unites hip-hop with skateboarding', something that I wholeheartedly agree with. It's not all the time that you see African-Americans (black people in general) talk about skateboarding, they make it seem like a white person's sport. But I disagree but that's another topic for another time.

Another song that I LOVE is the track ft Mz Jill Scott, 'Daydream' my favourite lyrics being 'daydream, where I sleep underneath the flowers, on a beautiful day'. This song, where I might borrow someone else's words which I think are quite adequate, is a 'colorful blend of poetry and bluest hip-hop' at it's most purest. It samples Monster's 'Daydream in Blue'.

Lupe Fiasco's album 'Food and Liquor' is a storytelling lyricism that outshines anything that is called 'hip-hop' sold today.

You can check out his band's website and his myspace to listen to some great tracks. If you live, breath hip-hop this is an album to have in your collection.

The Bollywood rumour mill has been working overtime with the allegations of marriage between Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai. Apparently the 'couple' went to the temple late last night to get married, though the priest of the temple denied the rumours.

Abhishek Bachchan is the son of Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan and Rai is a former Miss World turned actress. She and Abhishek have starred in two movies this year, 'Amrao Jaan' and 'Dhoom 2'.

I must say, if they are dating or married, they make a damn fine couple physically. And Abhishek is sure is a hottie.

I created this blog mostly to write down what I find interesting and this is mostly music, films and unfortunately I know(but I can't help myself), celebrity gossip.

So today I wanted to write down my thoughts on my most favourite actor that is out there in silicone village and that is Gael Garcia Bernal (photo on the left). I first laid eyes on Gael and his acting abilities of coz on Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's film 'Amores Perros (2000). I was captured by Alejandro's directorial brilliance and Gael's beauty and acting and I knew that these two men will go on and make fantastic movies and I wasn't wrong. Alejandro went on to make the Oscar acclaimed movie '21 Grams' with Sean Penn and now the Oscar buzzed film 'Babel' starring Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett and also Gael Garcia Bernal (poster on right).

Babel entwines multiple story lines linked by circumstance and blood. The first story is set in Morocco and it focuses on two young goatherds with a rifle. The second on an American couple (Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett), the third a rebellious deaf Japanese teenager and her father, and the fourth on a Mexican nanny who, without permission takes two American children across the border. Alejandro says this movie is about miscommunication and how many problems are caused by us not listening to each other.

It is not the first time that Gael acts in a movie that has political issues. He starred in the acclaimed film 'The Motorcycle Diaries' as the young revolutionary Che Guevara and Alfonso Guarons 'Y Tu Mama Tambien' which on the outset seems to be about two young men who are after an older women but has political themes like homosexuality, circumstances arising from poverty and a theme that every human has to deal with, death.

Gael was born in 30 November 1978 in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. He began his acting career as a child, working with his parents in a variety of plays which is where he also met his close friend and business partner Diego Luna, who he acted with in 'Mama Tambien' (Interviewers had a field day asking them how it was kissing their best friend in the film. Gosh they never are original are they in asking questions). 'Amores Perros' was his first major feature film which catapulted him into stardom.

Gael and Diego own a production company called Canana (name comes from a bullet belt that revolutionaries wear) in Mexico. He has also gone and directed a film called 'Deficit'. Not only is he gorgeous but he is a man with a social conscience and he has worked with Oxfam on issues affected our world today.

Can't wait to go and watch 'Babel', will be on the front row drooling on Gael.

When I was getting my usual dose of news from BBC, I read that Lilly Allen was third in the list of coolest women in music according to NME which is funny because she gives a very angry statement about it in a her blog page.

I was happy to see the article in BBC because I hadn't known her name. I had seen her video SMILE on MTV Base but hadn't registered the name. I loved the song from the first time I heard it because I think it is a hilarious account of joy that you feel when you see someone who has hurt you go through a trouble time, something I'm sure a lot of us has gone through. The chorus goes: At first, when I see you cry, it makes me smile, yeah it makes me smile/at worst, I'd feel bad for a while, but then I just smile.

Since I enjoyed the song smile I'd thought I'd check out some of her other tracks and since the album is not out yet in Botswana, I went through Google to see if I can hear some of her tracks online (which is why I'm so grateful for the Internet). I managed to hear a few and I loved all of them. Her sound of laid back reggae sound with pop and garage underlined with cheeky lyrics is fantastic. The critics call her sound Ska which is what's popular in Britain at the moment with bands like The Streets and Arctic Monkeys. The Streets is one of the bands that I also enjoy even though Mike Skinner's 'rapping' could pince the nervous a bit.

The other track that I heard was 'Alfie' a song which sounds like there was a big brass band that was commissioned to be on with a sample from an old French children's song. The song is about her younger brother and I read that her brother throw out her laptop out of the window because he was pissed about it. Which is something you would understand after hearing the song as she goes on about how's his a twat and won't get laid if he doesn't stop playing TV games.

She also does a great cover of Kaiser Chiefs song 'Oh my god'. I can see why NME named her in the coolest list because her sound is so refreshing compared to what's out there in pop now days. To me British music has always been a trendsetter because they are never afraid to be original with their sounds which in the end everyone else follows. Case in point, M.I.A who's sounds got everyone talking and now artists like Fergie and Gwen are embellishing the sound.

If you are from Botswana or Africa for that matter and have no idea who I'm talking about, you can check out her music webpage and her myspace.

What a week I have been having. My chauffeur (my mother) has taken some days of work and now I have to deal with the dreaded public transport.

Having to wake up an hour early, I have had to gain some education when it came to the transport jungle. Upon arriving at the bus stop, you have to stand in front of the masses of people waiting for the same thing (a mode of transport that can safely transport them to their workplaces), and the impatience is engraved in their faces to having to wait for so long. The standing in front enables you to grab the first vehicle, either it be a private car or the bus , before you are crashed by the wave of people desperate to get in.

The mode of transport that everyone fights for are the private cars. The private cars are fast, comfortable and don't smell of burned diesel so I have learned that when you have managed to wave one down make sure you are in a position to make a sprint to the door and have your elbows up so that nobody is able to hip-bump you out of the way. When you have successfully opened the door and managed to squeeze yourself in, then you can relax and take a breather to the workplace.

Never had going to work been such a hassle, I'm so knackered from the early morning battle of arms that I'm ready for a holiday. What I would give for a warm ocean breeze and colourful drinks at my disposal.

TEBBY IS THE SURVIVOR!

I just had to blog my congratulations to my home girl Tebby Gasenelwe for becoming the first Survivor Africa winner.

Tsholofelo Gasenelwe, the 24-year old who hails from Kanye, Botswana was crowned survivor after 21 days playing the game at Panama. Here in Botswana everybody is delighted with the results and I'm sure the whole city will be there at the airport waiting to sing her home.

We are a very small country with little happening here and when something like this happens we all celebrate together because it brings joy to us all.

PULA! TEBBY PULA!

Yesterday I was watching THS investigates on E! Entertainment and they were discussing anorexia and bulimia among young women and men. It was interesting because they started off with the trend in Hollywood of actress being extremely thin and how this could affect the average American. But of cause they couldn't say for sure that there is a causal link between thin celebrities and an increase in eating disorders in America.

I say that the recent trend of celebrities being so thin that you could count their rib cage is extremely disturbing. Of cause, young women look up to these women because they are being hailed as 'IT' in the media. The media will show a picture of an emaciated celebrity and go 'oooh' and 'ahh' and 'how great they look now they lost how many pounds' that makes you sick. When the celebrity gets to a point where the media themselves can't agree with the way she looks, they trash her and tell her to eat something. Forgetting that they encouraged her to begin with.

We have to admit that we as women do not look the same. We have different body shapes. Why are we then trying to all look like stick figures? It was amazing to read about how many celebrities have eating disorders and how some of them died because of it. But I wasn't surprised. If you were always on the spotlight with zoom lens on your cellulite wouldn't you stop eating? So I guess I'm saying the blame partly lays with the media, the media that idolises 'thinness' and unattainable beauty. The media that always tells us how to dress, how to wear make-up, how to loss weight and doesn't celebrate the greatness that is diverse humanity.

The other blame I put squarely with designers. Why do they make dress sizes of 00 and 2 when they know that is ludicrous? Today I read a heartbreaking statement from Ana Coralina Reston's mother who lost her daughter to complications caused by Anorexia. She was a 21 year old model who starved herself to wear beautiful cloths and walk down a runway. Apparently the fashion world is trying to stop this by enforcing a certain weight on models but I think the designers will then take their designs to celebrities, I mean they are more then willing to stop eating. I mean look at Kate Bosworth. She had such a health looking athlete built in 'blue crush' and now she looks like her arm will come off if you just happened to grab it. It's really sad. And the fact that they don't get that impressionable kids are copying them, is even more depressing. I sometimes wonder how we can stop this trend, but has long as designers and the media work hand in hand in praising this phenomenon, then it will never end and we will keep having young women and men die trying to look good.

Weird Al

I've been a fan of this dude ever since I heard Amish paradise and fat. He's very funny. I love his take on Chamillionaire's song 'Ridin Dirty'.

So, it really is over? TMZ has reported that Reese has filed divorce papers against her hubby, Ryan Phillippe. The couple were married for seven long years (which is a pretty long time in Hollywood) after meeting at Reese's 21st birthday party.

Reese is asking for joint legal custody for their two children, with her being the primary caretaker. What is it with Hollywood and divorce? It's like a long happy marriage is an unknown thing to them. Marriage is about compromise, you give and receive. Actors are so used to receiving they don't know how to give (emotionally).

They say it's the Oscar curse. Women who have won Oscars end up being divorced months later. Well, I say, what does that say about the men? So shallow they can't even be happy for their wives? Or do the women turn around and throw the Oscar winning in their faces? 'Well I have the statue, what do you have? Look at your career, might as well stay home and look after the children.' (looking after children is something women did for centuries, why can't they?) Well, I guess we'll never know what really happened. It's just sad though. Rumours are that Ryan had(or is having ) an affair. You know how it is, rumours always turn out to be fact in Hollywood.

Wow, what is it with couples breaking up now dayz? First we hear that the golden couple of Hollywood is separating (Reese and Ryan), and now Britney Spears has filed for divorce from her hubby, Kevin Federline.

From what I can gather, Britney caught Kevin by surprise by filing the papers. I bet he didn't see the gravy train leaving the station so soon especially now that his album is a totally bomb (not in a good way). It's reported that after filing the papers, Britney went celebrating by ice skating. I guess she was imaging skating away from Federline's greedy clutches. That marriage was weird from the very beginning. I'm even surprised it lasted this long. It's just sorry that there is two children involved in this whole mess.
Talking about the children, Britney wants sole custody which is something Federline is planning to fight (with what I wonder? He has no money!).

Can you image being 24 and twice divorced? That Britney sure is a busy woman.

Justin was right when he sang "What goes around...Comes around". Wonder what he thinks? Probably laughing while he is cleaning up his EMA awards.

Simpsons 2006 Treehouse of Horror Clip

Nice take on the Iraqi War.

UMRAO JAAN

On Saturday 4 November 2006, my sister, a friend and I went to see the Bollywood movie 'Umrao Jaan'. First of all I have to say that I am a huge fan of Bollywood and Rai is one of my favourite Bollywood actress so I was really looking forward to seeing this movie.

We arrived in a rush because we were a few minutes late and I have watching a film that has already started but since these films are 3hours long I knew I'll have time to catch up. As I settled down I got lost in the colour and cinematic brilliance that was 'Umrao'.

The film was a re-make of an 80's movie that was a hit in India. The screenplay is based on a book that recounts this popular Indian fable. It has Aishwarya Rai acting as Umrao and her real life boyfriend Abhishek Bachchan (son of Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan) as the love interest, Nawab Sultan.

As I write this I can recall the heavy heart I had while watching this movie. A lot of films have dealt with loss, loss of family, friends and love and 'Umroa' had all of these and more. Rai played the character so well that a glance at her sorrowful eyes had you weeping as a baby. I'm not an emotional person when it comes to movies but this movie had me wiping off a tear or two.

'Umroa Jaan' is really a masterpiece of cinema.

Gnarls Barkley - Smiley Faces

Finally in these day and age, a music video with some imagination. I'm glad someone sat down and actually thought about what they were going to do and this video really captures the music. It's fantastic!

Give it up to me-sean paul ft keyshia cole

I really like this guy's songs and the original was good but somehow the vocals of Keyshia make this version explosive.

Sean Paul is a pretty good-looking guy but what is with the shaved sides? It just looks weird.

I went to watch 'Step Up' after seeing this video but what a disappointment! I wanted my money back but I guess we all make mistakes.

Madonna admitted on Newsnight that she offered to 'support' David's father so that he could be able to raise David and he refused. She then decided to adopted. She even plans to learn his native lingo, so that means she will be teaching him his culture. Well, if that is the case then what of our objections? We can only then wait and see what happens next.

THE LEGEND IS BACK!

When I saw that John had released another album I was a bit taken back because I'm still enjoying his debut album 'Get Lifted' so I went out of my way to hear is new project 'Once again'.

Well, what can I say, from the first beats of 'save room' to the drum, choral sounds of 'coming home', I was never disappointed. I'm even tempted to say that this album even beats the three Grammy winning debut album with its musicality and its maturity.

In this album, John Stephens flys solo with no collaborations (except in producing) and for this I commend his boldness and belief in himself and makes this product unique compared to what's offered in R&B today.

Truely John is indeed a Legend and he will be with us for a long time to come.

(picture by www.tmz.com)


While on the run from the feds in the States, actor Wesley Snipes is having a great ball at the Namib desert, going to gym and posing with fans. It has been reported that the actor is at the Sourthern African country filming a movie called 'Gallowwalker'. It is not known if the actor will return to the States at the end of filming to face the charges or make Namibia his permanent home.

I'm really looking forward to see The Last King of Scotland. It has recieved some good reviews and it's about the brutal dictator Idi Amin.

Idi Amin was a sergeant in the British Colonial army. After Uganda's independece, Amin rose in the Ugandan armed forces to the position of Commander-in-Chief. In 1971, Amin seized control of the government. Amin was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Ugandans. In 1979, Tanzanian troops invaded Uganda and forced Amin into exile. Amin led out the rest of his life in Saudi Arabi were he died from natural causes in 2003.

The film starts off in 1975 a couple of years after Amin had taken power and it tells the story from the point of view of a fictional Scottish doctor, Nicholas Garrigan, played by Jame McAvoy. Even though this character is fictional, in reality, Amin did have a Scottish doctor. I think it would have been very interesting to have had a movie based on his experiences other then make it a fictional character but maybe the filmmakers had a reason to make it that way. The film is based on a book with the same title.

Even though I'm looking forward to seeing it, I'm a little bit nervous when it comes to watching films written and directed by westerners about Africa and African leaders because they tend to caricatures Africans and the continent, but since this is based on the point of view of a westerner then I could understand while watching the film. That is as far as I can say as I still have to watch it but having seen the previews I am concerned about the black makeup on Whitaker as he is already dark himself. It makes him look like those characters in the black and white movies where white men played black people (not a very good look as the characters used to be dumb, child-like people). It would be interesting to see how one blends that cartoonish image to the brutal actions of the real Idi Amin.

SNIPES ON THE RUN

Movie star Wesley Snipes has an arrest warrant after him when he failed to file tax returns and falsely claiming nearly $12 million in refunds.....

Wow the guy makes millions in just one movie and his still not satisfied. Now he's on the run and if found and faces prosecution then he can face up to 16 years in jail if found guilty. Just recently he was caught using a fake South African passport at the Johannesburg airport so that makes me think that he knew the fads were after him and he was planning his escape. Unfortunately the cops in SA just allowed him to board the plane back to the States where he disappeared.

I'm sure his going to live in some country where the US can't get to him, spending his millions and still making movies...The lives of the rich and famous.

In the news it has been stated that the baby that Madonna wants to adopt is in the UK so that the couple and the child could get to bond. The Malawian courts have given Madonna the husband interim adoption.

The first time that the news come out that Madonna wants to adopt an African child they was much debate on the news and on blogs. I have been fascinated by the views given by people locally and internationally. Most importantly is the views given by Africans who have been adopted by westerners. Most of the views haven't been good. The one I have most interesting is the one written by Hannah Poole at http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1888682,00.html in which she received a lot of flack about her comments.

Sure it's all nice and good to say that westerners are saving these children from a life of doom and gloom but are they really? We as humans have to admit that life is not about wealth and luxuries but about our emotions and pschology. Is ok if they save them from poverty but the children grow up to be confused and isolated within themselves?

The whole thing with Madonna has certainly shown me that money does talk. The Malawian government changed their stance on foreigners not being able to adopted Malawian children because it prefers that adoption happen within their country. As soon as they heard that Madonna was going to spend certain amounts of money in the country they did an adrupt turn. Surely the law was there for a good reason? If not why is the country divided and some organisations willing to take the matter to court. Why is it some westerners think they know what's best for Africa and for Africans?

My opinion is that if Madonna really did want the best for child then she would have realised the the best thing was for the child to stay with his father. She could have improved the standard of living for the child and his family by helping them financially or with entrepreneur skills so that they can improve their lives. Why did she think that taking a child from his biological father is the right thing to do?

Is there a system in place that will assure that this child will have a good upbringing emotionally and pschologically? Will they have yearly checkups to see if the child is happy and the family is a good environment for the child? These questions are not only for the Madonna issue but for anyone wanting to take a child away from their country and raise them on foreign soil.

Paxilback - Gray Kid parody of Justin Timberlake's Sexyback

It's amazing what time on your hands will do. To think they put so much energy in writing the words, getting the voice right and the images for these video. It's fantastic though and I'm people will agree with me when I say it's even better then the original.

There has been this big debate in Botswana and internationally as well with the Botswana government and Survival International and the Basarwa a.k.a Bushmen.

This issue is so big that our President Festus Mogae did the rounds at Washington DC last week.

What I don't understand is the way people are so quick to believe or agree on something they themselves have no idea about, or understanding. All they do is read some pamphlet organised by an NGO they have no idea about or the motives of that NGO and think that that is the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
Well the reality is that diamonds are a big part in the development of Botswana. It was the truth when the President said to buy a Botswana diamond is to support an orphan, fight poverty, ignorance and disease. Before diamonds where discovered by De Beers, Botswana was the poorest nation in Africa. Almost all of the population was below the poverty line. With the discovery of diamonds come development to Botswana in its social infrastructure. Batswana people,thanks to revenue generated by the diamonds, have access to free education, free health, job creation and a stable currency. We are now considered a middle income country thanks to these diamonds.

Botswana I'm sure is one of the few countries that gives its people free tertiary education and also a generous allowance while attended to their tertiary education. Parents do not have to worry about their children's education. Would it have been all possible if it won't for the revenue from the diamonds? I think not. Botswana's gross domestic product was $16.8 billion in 2005, of which about a third was derived from diamond investments. If we allow for Survival International to ruin Botswana's diamonds by unfounded allegations then all these developments will seize to exist and where will the nation stand?

Survival International seems to think that the Basarwa's are people separated from the rest of society, but they are wrong. Basarwa's are Batswana in their own right and they have the right to these developments derived from diamonds. Their children have they right to free education just like the rest of the nation and I'm sure Survival doesn't tell the world about Basarwa's who are educated and are productive members of society thanks to the free education in Botswana. I'm also sure that Survival hasn't put pictures of the place where the Basarwa's are being allocated to compared to where they where living before. If they did, then people will not be quick to denounce the government's intentions. Is it ok for a British NGO to come and tell us Batswana that we should stick to the olden way of living in our mud/straw huts and our hunting and gathering ways instead of growing with the rest of world? It is good to remember where we come from and keep the values and cultures of those days but not for it to keep us from evolving with the rest of the world. Instead of cattle farming, it is now globalisation. I'm sure the British have also given up their own olden traditions to modern day living. The government of Botswana is not saying to the Basarwa give up your culture and values, but it is instead giving them opportunities to improve their way of living. Of having running clean water, closer access of health clinics and hospitals and a school next door so that children don't have to walk long hours to their school. To those who disagree with this, I question their motives. Is it because they want to have a real show of Africans living in mud huts when they come for their African safaris instead of Africans having brick homes, in-door plumbing, air-cons, cars. This view of African does not go with their view of Africa and the images shown by western media.

I have added some thoughts on http://linz81.hi5.com, Please feel free to read.

I think a sense of humor is sooo important in life. So I hope you have a good laugh with this.

Hilarious!

Justin Timberlake - My Love

When I first heard the song, I was really interested in seeing the video and I must say, I was disappointed, I thought the director will at least give some thought on the video but it's the same ol' tired thing of half naked girls and slinking dance moves. Come guys where's the creativity now days in music videos?