Refusing to keep up with the joneses

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Have you ever been in the postion of watching other people cruise cars that are higher in terms of luxury, performance and model than yours and still felt good that you at least have a set of wheels to be proud despite not keeping with the joneses?

Well, thats how I've been feeling. I don't drive a high end BMW or a Super benz. I don't cruise a luxury lexus or a powerful VW toureg. Nope. I don't.

I move about in a humble 1995 Nissan Primera

But it wasn't until I came across this funny Ad that I further got to appreciate the kind of ride I cruise.

Just take a look at this Ad and you'll know what I mean...

LOL...Will somebody who's proud of the wheels he could readily afford (as of now) holla at whatamsayin'?

I just love my primera...

Know the host that rocks and the host that sucks @ WebhostingGeeks

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Friday, March 20, 2009

If you’re a regular surfer on the internet, chances are that you either have a blog or a website of your own. It’s cool when you’ve got such virtual locations which give you the feel of having your own personal office where you want it and how you want it. 

There’s nothing as good as having a good foundation to start on and what I mean by this is a good website host to hang your site on. So where on earth do you get a good host for your site? I found out that searching for a web host site on a search engine might be a pain because you’ll just get a load of random hosts that you just can’t be sure which you can trust.

But then, have no fear, because there’s light at the end of the tunnel. I came across this Website hosting site that showcases a directory of hosts and rates them accordingly. You get to choose the host of your choice after seeing the reviews, rating and weighing your options.

I’m talking about Webhostinggeeks.com, the site that offers you Independent reviews of the best web hosting providers, cheap professional web hosting services under $10 a month, and also offer you the opportunity of deciding which one you feel is best for you as well as which you feel you can afford. They got different categories covered - Budget Hosting, Blog Hosting, Forum Hosting, Unix Hosting, Windows Hosting, PHP Hosting, Email Hosting, Ecommerce Hosting, Multiple Domain Hosting, VPS Hosting, Dedicated Hosting…and the list goes on. There's also the webhosting geeks blog that gives you resourceful lowdown on technical stuff about your domain and site hosting. 

You also get to contribute: review your web host and let other webmasters know the best and the worst. The best are listed and given awards. Isn’t that a cool way to get credibility info? It sure is...and thats gonna be my first stop when I'm  looking for a host for a new website.

Webhostinggeeks.com – that’s the place to go when you’re looking for the best host providers; the place to go when you're not sure what hosting package suits your site, and finally, the place to go when you need info on which website host rocks and which one sucks!

Butt Crack & Fashion

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Monday, March 09, 2009

Each time I ‘accidentally’ watch a Fashion show, I’m always amused. 
Skinny chicks parading outrageous outfits and being applauded by an audience that seems to appreciate the bizarre.

Okay, I’ll honestly say that some designers have some real good stuff that get paraded but at the same time you need to check out the crazy stuff some designers come up with all in the name of making you look good. Check out the hilarious moments of fashion in the video below…

Modeling Show Funny Video - The funniest videos clips are here

There’s a pair of jeans and pant types that are either designed to sit on ladies hips and expose their G-strings in a rather supposedly ‘sexually appealing’ way or just expose the size of the cracks of their asses.

Courtesy www.pbase.com

Okay, I’m beating about several bushes but what I mean to say is this: 
Have you noticed that a lot of clothes designed for women nowadays is meant to exploit their gender?  (I think this may be an interesting topic for Standtall!)

I once caught sight of a chick that must have ‘accidentally’ worn a low-hip jeans ‘cause the crack of her butt was smiling at everyone who accidentally looked in her direction. She was attending to me at an eatery and each time she turned round to pick stuff from a fridge I had to stifle the laughter that wanted to force itself out. Her butt cheeks were so nastily squeezed into a low-hip jeans, violently exposing a crack almost big enough to hold a small plastic bottle. 

What about the chick I saw riding on an okada. Her jeans was so low I could see the first half of her sanitary pad sticking out like it had come up for air.

Oh did I mention ladies only? What about the ‘sagging’ phenomenon? It seems we now have all manner of pants and jeans that are meant to sit on men’s hips and in most cases expose the boxers. And they are supposed to look cool right?

Courtesy www.wehaitians.com

So, why would you show off your boxers or sag anyway? To look cool?

I think it’s a self-esteem perception issue.

I don’t believe you need to be all boxers-out for the society to think you’re all that.

And the society's becoming somewhat aware

Nope. I don’t believe so.

What you do, stand for, who you are should speak for you. masqueraded attitudes are just child’s play. But hey, we were all children once (I also once did all that ‘yanga’ too). However, there’s a time to grow up. Those who grow up on time turn out to be stars.

It’s a crazy world when we all dress up to impress people all at the expense of being comfortable. I see people do it a lot: 
A lady pulling down her top again and again to cover a partially exposed crack…
A lady watching her steps because of the orthopaedic monsters she’s wearing on her foot… 
A ‘saggingly’ dressed dude from time to time stylishly grabbing his crotch in a cool fashion when what he’s actually doing is drawing them up from getting under his shoes…
I could go on. But I leave the rest to your imagination.

Like I said…it’s a crazy world when we all dress up to impress people all at the expense of being comfortable. I don’t think I wanna do that anymore. If I’m not comfortable in what I’m wearing, I’m not wearing it. 

The Facebook Menace

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Thursday, February 26, 2009

I'm contemplating about Facebook.

It sounds like a good social networking site that could help connect you with long lost friends among other things.

But some people are begining to see the dark side of this powerfully famous site.

Facebook has cost some people their jobs. Their bosses found incriminating info or pictures of them on facebook.

Marriages have broken because of facebook. I came across this shocking story of how far facebook could affect a married couple. Click here to view the story.

A lesson could be learnt or rather a warning served to all of us of the dark sides of social networking sites from the Megan Meier story whose case occurred thru MySpace.

A friend of mine recently removed all his data from facebook because it was about putting him in trouble.

Some companies are now configuring their internet connection to disallow the facebook url ever showing up on their internet because it was a distraction to many employees.

I've come to prefer blogging to facebooking. Its safer and I'm in control - and i can also make some good income.

I don't frequent facebook that much. (Thank goodness for that.) I only use it when Ineed to reach some people. 

And I'm developing a new habit now...doing more reading than staying at a PC!

Like the Ad above says, lets try reading more books and not just stay glued to PCs shey? lol!

The Nigerian Lady & The Bouquet of Flowers

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Monday, February 16, 2009

Okay. I'm supposed to have posted this on Vals day but I guess it still isn't a bad idea to view it even after the lovey dovey season.

Of what relevance is a bouquet of flowers to a Nigerian lady? Just watch this funny video and add your own comments. 

Alaere Alaibe...Gone...Saddening

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Thursday, February 12, 2009

Her name is Alaere Alaibe.

45 years of age.

Married to NDDC chairman, Timi Alaibe for 20 years.

She's the Founder of the FREE Foundation which stands for Family Reorientation Education and Empowerment, an NGO that has touched the lives of many less priviledged people and given them hope for a new life.

Her NGO has won awards upon awards.

Also the owner of 'Pretty Woman' on Toyin Street, Ikeja, Lagos.

This beautiful and enigmatic woman who last year was diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma (a form of cancer) is no more.

She died in her husbands arms singing her favourite song at a London hospital.

She'll be buried today.

...She's also a blogger. Check out her blog here

My guess is that she must have stopped blogging after being diagnosed of her illness.

Check her foundation's website here

So sad. Another good woman who has touched lives and positively affected others, gone just like that.

Read more about her here

The Chat City for Single Parents

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Monday, February 09, 2009

You’re single and you have a kid. And you’d like to mingle again and stop being single or you just need to meet another like you, there’s always an answer or should I say solution to that.

You need to get on the web and log on to www.singleparentchatcity.com – the one stop chat site with loads of chat rooms where tons of single parents connect, share and relate with one another. You get to register for free and there’s an opportunity to chat via live webcam connectivity. 

I checked out the site and I think it’s cool. I mean, here’s a site that offers single parents the opportunity to find love again. One thing I’ll say I like about the site is that it offers you the opportunity to punch in the age range of people you’d like to meet and the results show you members that meet your search of whom are online at the moment.

Just a little search that I did and there was a display of a host of good looking single parents. The site seems to be having new members joining every minute because each time you do a search you get to see a fresh set of folks just joining!

There are definitely a lot of good-looking people out there waiting to connect!

The Chronicles X - The Camera 2

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Thursday, February 05, 2009

It was 6.45pm when Nate jumped down from the commercial bus and hurried through the hustle and bustle of Ikeja. 
He haphazardly crossed the road conjuring insults that questioned his parenthood from crazed bus drivers. 
He turned at a junction into an interior road. He had reached the famed Otigba computer village – a neighborhood where almost every building had become outlet for the sale of all manner of computers and InfoTech equipment. 
But he had come too late. The shop he had come to had closed. He ran through the adjoining streets searching for other shops that sold cameras. The ones he saw didn’t have what he needed.
Totally exhausted, he leaned against an empty kiosk that stood at a street junction, his eyes roaming the area to see if there was any shop that might seem to have what he wanted.

‘Bros, you wan buy something?’ a hoarse voice speaking in pidgin English startled him and he spun round to see it belonged to a lanky young man carrying two flat screen monitors. He was probably a shop owner who had just closed for the day.

‘Y…yes. I wan buy digital camera.’ Nate found his voice seizing in-between his panting as a result of his run.

‘Check the shop down that corner for the end, you go fin’ cheap one there.’ He nodded towards a corridor between a couple of two storey buildings. The corridor receded down in a long stretch with shops on either side. 
It was hard to see the end as it seemed to disappear into darkness.

Nate strolled cautiously down the corridor. He occasionally came across a shop owner just about locking up his shop. 
Finally he came to the last shop which was actually the end of the corridor. On the glass door hung an ‘Open’ sign on it.

He pushed the door and it opened with the creak of a drawback spring. As he stepped into the shop, the spring swung the door back into place. He looked around.

The shop looked more like a place where mostly used electronics and digital items were sold – many of which where displayed in glass cases, some perched on shelves in protective plastic nylon. Digital cameras, radios, laptops, mobile phones, palm pilots, scanners, printers and many other items populated the shop like it had been arranged for a quick junk sale.

‘Can I help you?’ A soft spoken yet deep baritone voice startled Nate, making him upset a collection of Software magazines piled on a table next to him.

The owner of the voice was a balding middle aged but well built man sporting a full moustache, dressed in a short sleeved, tight-fitting, green and yellow Ankara fabric shirt with a thick collar - all on top of a pair of green stonewashed jeans. 

‘Whoa! You scared me!’ 

‘Sorry about that. Hope I didn’t scare you too much.’

Nate gave him a funny look and the man gave a friendly laugh. 

‘Most of my friends complain that I’m way too quiet a person and that freaks them out. So, what can I do for you?’

‘I need a digital camera.’

‘What type?’

‘Uumm…how about you recommend a good one for me?’

‘May I ask why you came to this shop?’ 

Nate was unprepared for the question.

‘Well…most of the digital camera shops were closed. And someone directed me here. Why do you ask?’

The man moved towards an office table, perched at the edge.

‘Nothing. Just curious. So you need a real good digital camera you say?’

‘Yep. Something that won’t cost me too much.’

The man smiled and stroked his well shaven chin.

‘That won’t cost much shey? Hmm…I think I have just the camera for you.’

He got up and went into an inner room behind the office desk.

Nate stood there for the next five minutes wondering if it was a good idea to buy from this guy. He juggled odds slowly in his head but before he could reach a conclusion the man was back with a dusty cardboard box.

Nate suddenly began to loose interest. The box looked like it had been abandoned for years. It was about the size of a small jewelry case but was far from looking anything like one. It had markings on it which had faded so much that you could hardly read what was on it. It still had strips of old worn out tape clinging loosely to it – evidence of tampered packaging.

‘Is this new?’ he asked in a hardly impressed tone.

The man didn’t answer him. He placed the box on the table, dusted it with a piece of rag then opened the flaps of the box. He lifted a set of white protective foams and set them on the table. Then with expert care lifted something out of the box and laid it on the table before Nate.

Nate gasped and blinked several times. 

The box was nothing to write about but the content - the camera that lay in it was something else. 

It was a professional digital Single Lens Reflex camera unlike any which he had never seen before.
It had thick rubber padding round the areas where your hands rested and glistening steel running along its edges. It’s already attached lens stuck out like the barrel of some powerful weapon. The wide LCD view finder shone just like the glistening steel outlines. 
But above all, the most striking thing about this camera was its name – Seer

‘'Seer'? What kind of company makes a camera with a name like that? Don’t you have any well known cameras like Canon, Pentax, Olympus…’

‘I do. But trust me, none of them can do wonders like this guy here.’

Nate bit on his lower lip and looked at the Camera again. The lights in the room shone on its seemingly well polished steel areas. It was a good looking camera but he wasn’t even thinking of putting down his money for it because he actually wanted to buy a cheaper portable point-and-shoot camera.

‘I can’t afford it.’

The man leaned forward with a smile.

‘I never even told you the price.’

‘So what’s it worth?’

‘It’s worth how much you can afford.’

Nate couldn’t believe his ears. He looked at the camera and back at the man again.

‘Excuse me, but don’t mistake me for some ‘yahoo yahoo boy’. I have only 15K here and that’s not enough to buy the cheapest professional camera.’

‘That’s true. But not in this case.’

‘Is this a stolen camera?’

The man laughed.

‘Of course not. It’s actually a unique camera that’s undergoing a test-run and I’m giving it to you to try it out.’

Nate snorted disbelievingly.

‘For 15K? Bite me!’

The man pushed the camera closer to him and Nate felt the urge to own such a gadget building inside him. The man leaned on the table, a sincere look playing through the slight wrinkles on his face.

‘Forget the money. Take it for a test run for the next two weeks. Give me a call anytime you’ve got issues concerning its operation. Here’s my card with my phone numbers.’

Nate gave him a shocked look.

‘Bros, you’re not even bothered that I might not return it?’

The man scoffed, reached into a drawer under the table and brought out an unused cardboard box and placed the camera in it and handed it to Nate.

‘You’ll return it.’

The sincerity in the man’s voice shook Nate a little. It was so strong that Nate believed that he would return it. He held tightly to the box, hardly believing his luck.

‘What about its manual? It must have come with one.’

‘Trust me. You don’t need one.’

Somehow Nate believed him. 

‘Thanks sir, thanks Mr…,’ he flipped over the business card, ‘Mike?’

‘My pleasure, Nate. Enjoy the camera.’

Seconds later they both walked towards the shop entrance. Mike opened the door, bid Nate a final farewell then locked up the shop from the inside and disappeared through the door behind the desk.

Nate held tightly to the box and walked quickly. He was still in a daze. He couldn’t believe his luck. His mind ran through the drama that just took place in Mike’s shop.

He froze when something suddenly dawned on him.

He had never introduced himself to Mike. 

So how did the man know his name?

He glanced down the corridor he had just emerged from, thoughts racing through his befuddled mind.

What the heck was going on?

To be continued...

© Lolu Kush (Afronuts) - Story
© Kimson Masters - Illustrations

The Chronicles X - The Camera

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Friday, January 23, 2009

‘Nathanieli!...Nathanieli oh!!’

‘Yes Mama!’ Nate growled under his breath. The old lady would soon be the death of him. She seemed to need his attention every minute. And he hated the way she always called his full name with her indigenous Yoruba accent. 
He minimized the Adobe Photoshop window on his laptop and put the system on sleep option. 

His grandmother was sitting on one of her white plastic chairs on the verandah chewing nuts from a jar while listening to an old radio and watching the street urchins across the road make an ass out of a half-dead agama lizard.

‘Mama you called?’ 

‘Nathaniel, it’s already 4.30pm.’

‘Okay Mama.’ 

He understood what it meant. It was time to drive her to her association meeting in her old beat-up Mercedes Benz 280. His parents, uncles and aunts had tried persuading the old woman to give up the jalopy for the new Hyundai accent they had just bought for her but it seemed Granny had an emotional attachment to her old ride which she had owned years before her retirement from the civil service. The Hyundai just sat in her compound, covered in dust and flower buds falling from the tree in the compound.

Nate had looked forward to driving the car but Grandma never let it come to pass. Thus the car lay there for months.
Nate tried diabolical ways to make her go for the new car; he sabotaged the Benz several times but the old woman wouldn’t budge. She would wait for repairs to be completed on the car, take a taxi or cancel her outing for the day. 
He planned stealing the keys and taking the new car out for a spin but it never happened. Grandma had hid the keys so well that Nate was convinced she had flushed it down the toilet.


Twenty minutes later, Ekaete, who doubled as housekeeper and cook, swung open the gates and the old Benz chugged out of the compound with Nate at the wheels and Granny in the front passenger seat. 
As he drove out of the neighborhood, his saw Efe walking down the road. She wore a pair of navy blue jeans, a yellow top and a navy blue denim jacket. Perched demurely on her head was a face cap. She carried a handbag in one hand and held a black book in the other. Nate didn’t need a second guess to know it was a bible.

He watched her as she got nearer and tooted the car horn. She saw him, smiled and threw a wave greeting. He waved back with a sigh. 

Nate had a crush on Efe. 

Efe was pretty, friendly, outgoing and fun to be with. They met and became friends when he had come to stay with his grandmother during a school break from the University. He could have spent any school break at home with his parents and siblings but ever since he had bumped into Efe, he grew more interested in spending his break at Grandma’s.

Yes, he had a crush on Efe. But Efe had a crush on church.

Each time he tried to empty the contents of his heart she would smartly twist the whole conversation into a sermon. 
The day she invited him for an outing he was excited. He was finally going out on a date with her! His joy was short-lived when they were joined by more of her female friends and they all ended up at a fellowship meeting. He wasn’t expecting more company and just wasn’t cut out for all the religious stuff.
He had read bible stories as a little boy but as he grew up, he dismissed them for fables or fairy tales. His parents didn’t help matters. They were way too busy to teach him the reality of the scriptures.

Efe...the want of her was seriously crushing him.

‘Nathaniel, what’re you looking at? Will you face front or do you want to get us killed?’ His grandmother’s voice snapped him back into reality.

‘Sorry Mama.’

....................................................................................................................

Efe was on her bed reading a journal when her mobile phone rang. She looked at the caller ID. It was Nate.

‘Nate hi. Wassup?’

‘Hello Efe. How you doing? Just felt like hearing your voice.’

‘My voice? Hmm…is it really that worth listening to?’

‘Of course it is. I’m always excited whenever I hear your voice.’

‘I’m not convinced.’

‘Aaww come on, I mean it from the bottom of my heart. What can I do to prove it to you?’

A brief silence from the other end of the phone, then he heard her sigh then speak.

‘Come to the fellowship with me tomorrow. That’s all the proof I need’

Smartass. What won’t she do to drag his butt to church?

Efe listened for his reply but only heard him muttering to himself in the background.

‘Nate, are you cursing?’

‘Eh? Er..no.’ He lied.

‘So what do you say? Are you coming with me?’ She had this sweet childish plea in the tone of her voice that had a crazy effect on Nate.

‘Are your friends going with us?’ 

‘No. Just the two of us.’

Nate felt sweet butterflies fluttering in his stomach. Just the two of us sounded more like Yes, I'll marry you.

‘So, are you coming with me?’ Efe’s voice snapped him out of the reverie.

‘Sure…sure I will.’

‘Thanks for agreeing to come. I promise you, you won’t regret it. Later then’

‘Err…Yeah, later.’

She hung up. 

Nate pocketed his phone and scratched his head. 
He was in a mixed state of euphoria and worry.

He was excited that he was going to have a time out with Efe but he wasn’t happy that it was going to be in a church. He paced to and fro waiting for his grandma’s meeting to end. He still planned to get to Otigba to buy a new digital camera that evening and she was holding him up. He had been postponing the buying but at this point he wasn’t going to wait anymore because it was an opportunity to capture his first official outing with Efe on Camera.

To be continued....

© Lolu Kush (Afronuts) - Story
© Kimson Masters - Illustrations

NEXT ON THE CHRONICLES X

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Thursday, January 15, 2009

THE CAMERA

Story - Afronuts

Illustrations - Kimson Masters

A young skeptic who had never in his lifetime believed in the existence of unseen forces is forced to change his mind when he acquires a unique camera and goes on an unusual date with a pretty lady.

What happens in the events that follow during the date opens him to a highly neglected yet terrifying truth.

I know what I did last Xmas

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Monday, January 05, 2009

Its January 2009 and here's my first post for the year.

I'm still trying to adjust to the work mood and get out of the holiday mood - its almost like adapting to Naija's weather after you've spent months out of the country.

How was the holiday for you? For many it was dry, for others it was fun. I had fun with wifey and family.

Since I'm not making any serious entry, I'll leave you with a few shots I captured during the holidays.

Shots from Shiloh 2008 @ Canaanland. Families Camping and having fun with Baba God.

Delegates from other African Nations

I know what I ate last christmas. One of them is the delicacey yorubas call 'Ifokore'

Check for more pixs at the gallery

Last Entry for 2008

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Was this a christmas gift or blogger just got its act back together again?

Well, My blog edit panel is back on so I dont have to use html to post pics and write ups again!

Well...this will be my last entry for 2008 so see y'all in 2009!

Oh...when I get back I'll answer all the arrears...Kin'shar! Whoever on earth gave you the name 'Oyin'?
ROTFLMAO!


I can't wait for January 1st, things are gonna start happening!!

Nigerian Curiosity - A Blog Worth Checking Out

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Wednesday, December 03, 2008

When I clicked the link, I did it out of curiosity; curiosity as to the name of the blog in question. And indeed I wasn’t disappointed at what I saw. That instant I knew I had to review this blog.

I was surprised to even discover that the blog was managed by Solomonsydelle.
Never did I envision that she had such a site that was rich in social commentary on Nigerian issues. The site in question is Nigerian Curiosity.

The blog has the potential to impact beyond blogosphere; I’m talking of it becoming a point of reference in social circles. Apart from its layout simplicity and arresting masthead, Nigerian Curiosity is a blog that is richly informative on topical issues on Nigeria. This is a strong aspect of the blog because it’s a focused one and makes clear to the reader its objective.

The blog carries with it an air of solidarity in its various content; we see the blog’s part in the protest for the release of a detained Nigerian blogger, Jonathan Elendu. There is also the seriousness of safeguarding the blog’s originality in terms of guarding against plagiarism. I call this blog a ‘no-nonsense blog’ because of its downright tone of being dead serious. I have seen quite very few blogs that carry such tags that state “This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.”
It probably means this is a blog that could hit you beyond the internet if you tried any hanky panky plagiarism.

For any Nigerian based out of the country who has lost touch with the happenings in the country, this blog is a good place to visit to update yourself on the goings-on in Nigeria. The information is so accurate and detailed that I’m so convinced Solomonsydelle must either be an experienced journalist or a good researcher who is in someway connected to sources that supply her with such rich info.

Nigerian Curiosity is an outstanding blog and presently ranks Number 30 on Afrigator’s list of top African blogs. Going through the blog I also discovered that it has a rapid updating record; the delay between each post is very minimal. This indicates that the blog always has fresh information. It’s either that Solomonsydelle blogs for a living or just has that unique habit of keeping up to date with the latest info.

The blog is so rich that it qualifies as a reference material for any person or student doing a research or term paper on any topic that has to do with Nigeria.
I came across this fascinating blog last week and just couldn’t resist doing a review about it. It might be seen as a collection of musings by the blog owner but it’s equally a good example of what a social commentary blog should look like.

Rating for Nigerian Curiosity

I'm digging it!

If your Blog was rated like a Movie...

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Wednesday, November 26, 2008

I happened to be surfing the web when I came across a site that gave ratings to blogs like we have it in the movies. Out of curiousty I posted my blog's url and got a rating. I tried other blogs, especially those with 'risque' content and found the ratings questionable. Apparently the site rates through the use of words and not through the use of pictures. Here are some sites that I tested on the site. Sorry if yours isn't featured. I could only do a few.

Kinsharr's Blog

Black James bond's Blog

The Parakeet's Blog

Aloofar's Blog

Afrobabe's Blog

Vera's Blog

RisqueDiva's Blog

NigerianDramaQueen's Blog

Buttercup & Charizard's Blog

Standtall's Blog

Ibiluv's Blog

Oluwadee's Blog

Princesa's Blog

Emeka Amakeze's Blog

Rayo's Blog

Tina's Blog

Poeticallytinted's Blog

And here is the rating for my own blog!!

I guess the rating may not be accurate because when you visit blogs like Afrobabe's there are a lot of X-rated pictures there but the rating allows general audience (LOL!) but RisqueDiva's site did not get away with it because there was enuff dirty talk featured on her blog.

And I still don't understand why mine got this restricted rating! Honestly, is my blog really a bit offensive in anyway?
Gimme your views abeg.

You can check out the site'and rate your blog here

MOVIE REVIEW - Letters To a Stranger

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Friday, November 21, 2008

This movie review was done by a special request from Omosewa.I promised her I'd do one and I always try to keep my promises.

LETTERS TO A STRANGER (2007)
Starring: Fred Amata, Genevieve Nnaji, Femi Blaq, Ibinabo Fiberesima, Joke Silva, Eucharia Anunobi, Elvina Ibru
Written by Victor Sanchez Aghahowa
Directed by Fred Amata

The Story centres on Jemima, a working class lady who has a peculiar hobby of keeping a diary which is addressed to a non-existent stranger.
Through a wrong number dial on her phone, she eventually meets a real stranger (played by Femi Blaq) and they become phone buddies. Meanwhile, her supposed fiancé, Frederick (Played by Fred Amata), is not handling their relationship well and his negligence drives her to confide more in her stranger friend.
They eventually meet and things begin to happen as the inconsistency of Fred drives Jemima closer to her stranger friend, Sadiq.
Complications arise when it turns out Sadiq and Fred know each other and when she finds out she loves both men but one must go for the other.

The story is simple and has the theme that most Nollywood movies would show in their films but this movie stands out in its own unique way which one cannot ignore.
From the dialogue sequences to the lighting effects, camera work and post production, the movie expresses the work of improved professionalism in the Nigerian film industry.

A lot of Nollywood movies are known for showcasing stories with cheesy and unrealistic dialogues, their saving grace being prolific actors who would usually add their own flair to it. Letters to a Stranger is a departure from this norm. The script was good; from the delivery of the actors you could tell that it was meticulously done. I give it up to Victor Sanchez Aghahowa who wrote the script. Unlike some other Nollywood movies, the movie avoids senseless and unnecessary dialogue. You are kept on point with the conversation and there’s no how you get to miss out on it or get bored by it.
Apart from just very few glitches, most of the dialogue delivered were realistic and reminiscent of how it’s done in Hollywood blockbusters. Because of this the movie makers were able to create some good suspense through the dramatic and emotional dialogues between the actors.

A lot of the camera work and angles were quite impressive. The lighting was good and not exaggerated. There was a consistency all through it that gave the movie its own feeling of warmth and emotion. There is so much impact you can create on a movie through the lighting. Post production did some impressive job with effects like the slow-motion shots and the accompanying sound effect.

I was overjoyed when I noticed that the movie had a soundtrack that didn’t practically tell you the whole story. The soundtrack along with other sound effects were brilliantly arranged. It further encouraged my rating for the movie.
The transitions from scene to scene was fluid and blended so well that timeliness was well achieved and the movie did not attempt to waste the viewer’s time.

The Actors were not disappointing. I found Yemi Blaq’s performance very impressive and realistic. He fitted so well into his role such that you don’t see Yemi Balq, rather you see Sadiq, the compassionate stranger.
Genevieve Nnaji still proved the screen queen that she is. As Jemima, she handled the barrage of conflicting emotions so well that I’d recommend her for a Hollywood performance any day.
Elvina Ibru surprised me. She was the movie’s comic relief and she did a damn good job of it. Her antics as Tare, Jemima’s sanguine and outrageous roommate were so hilarious and real you would have thought she wasn’t acting but just catching her fun.

Fred Amata didn’t really do it well for me as Frederick the fiancé. He was a bit plastic though he still managed to carry his role effectively to the end.
I was surprised that other minor roles were handled by big actors and actresses like Eucharia Anunobi, Joke Silva, Segun Arinze so well too. Eucharia especially was a natural in her powerful in delivery of her role as Jemima’s boss.

It would be unfair to say there weren’t a number of flaws or overlooked areas in the movie. As usual in most Nigerian movies, audio quality has always been a challenge. Letters to a Stranger fell victim to this as well. There were instances where some actors’ voices were louder than others. There was also the case of uncontrolled background noise which stole the emotional importance of the dialogue between Jemima and Fred in the scene where he was about to take her to the airport.

The Phone conversation audios were not well edited. In scenes where the person on the other end of the phone was out of view, the sound was not telephonic but rather as if the person was in the same room as the caller or receiver. Such an oversight could kill the realistic feel of the moment unless it’s a scene in which the screen is split to show callers on both sides at the same time.

The dream scene in which Tare dreams of her favorite star, Dbanj about to kiss her was a hilarious scene but was not well executed and as a result lost the humour which would have been priceless.

The movie’s title is unique and very different from the usual funny titling of your regular Nigerian movie but it sort of lost its relevance early into the movie as the stranger was revealed too soon. Fortunately, it caught on back as the movie went on.

Lastly, we do appreciate the sponsorship of MTN but their presence was made way too loud and obvious. At a point the movie was beginning to look like an over-extended MTN TV commercial which could be quite annoying. Though at a point, the movie makers made the mistake of letting us see that Jemima’s supposed MTN phone actually had a Glo line in it as we see in the taxi scene where she had to call either Fred or Sadiq to make her choice.

Overall, Letters to a Stranger was a good movie and an applaudable credit to director and producer Fred Amata, and associate director and writer Victor Sanchez Aghahowa.
It’s a movie worth watching and not a waste of your money; it’s a movie that gets you laughing, smiling and shedding a tear or two. The suspense is very impressive and effective, the dialogues are interesting and the ending impactful.

Rating for Letters to a Stranger
Worth watching! ****

Rating List

Don’t waste your money abeg! > *
They tried > **
Not bad at all > ***
Worth watching! > ****
Grab some popcorn or suya! > *****

PS:I had to post this entry through HTML! Blogger is still messing with my settings! I dont have a post editor panel!

THE CHRONICLES X - TAKEN 3

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Monday, November 17, 2008

‘Segun! What on earth are you doing?’

Segun turned round to see Ada standing behind him in a short red gown, arms akimbo, a quizzical look on her face.
He gave a big sigh of relief grabbing briefly at his chest.

‘Ada, you scared the living daylights out of me!’

‘Hmm…you’ve been a bit edgy these past few days. What’s wrong with you?’

‘I guess I’ve been a little bit paranoid. Maybe it’s the stress at work’
He dabbed his sweaty face with his hankie. It was a deliberate move to hide his face. Ada was very good at reading expressions, especially if you were lying to her.

‘Oh you poor baby’, Ada cooed at him, caressing his face and planting a soft kiss on his lips.
Normally, whenever she did this, it sent electrifying charges of lust shooting through his body but today things seemed different. The kiss felt cold, her caress felt like tiny tentacles from some deadly parasite, and her grip felt like the shackles of death.

For a moment, his conscience had reared up its ugly head and beclouded his mind with tormenting guilt. He shook off her hands and walked hurriedly out of the bar. A battle was raging in his mind; two voices argued violently in his head.

Don’t tell me you’re going to run off and leave that chick all by her self! Don’t you see she needs you?

But what about Shola? She’s been with you through the thick and thin; she’s your wife. Are you going to keep cheating on her?

Who say’s you’re cheating on her? This is just a game that adults play. As long as you keep this affair a secret, things will go on fine!

But you know secrets like this only end up being exposed. Someone may soon catch you at it.

Not if you stay away from where anyone can catch you. Beside’s you’re not the only one doing this, some of your friends are too.

But what about what this strange guy has been telling you? Haven’t you for once thought of taking him serious?

Duh! It only means you’ve not been doing enough to keep this secret a secret!

The argument seemed to go on and on. He stood outside the bar beside his car and held firmly against the car door. His mind was going into a mental staccato as he tried to make a decision.

Finally, he made one.

But only after he had turned to look towards the bar to see Ada cat-walking towards him.
The light from the bar shone through her diaphanous dress and he saw a silhouetted outline of what she would look like naked.

Suddenly, the voice that was encouraging him to continue with the affair became highly motivated and drowned the other one that opposed the idea.
He couldn’t resist the allure from this woman. She reached deep into him like he had never felt.
Somewhere inside him, a faint voice yelled at him, that he was like a rat chewing on sweet succulent poison. He ignored reason and obeyed lust.

He took the puzzled Ada by the hands and drew her closer to him.

‘I’m sorry for barging out like that. Just needed some air’

‘And what on earth was suffocating you in there? My kiss?’

‘Oh come on…of course not. I was just stressed. That’s all.’

‘You’re lying.’ She had looked into his face.

‘Okay. I want you.’

‘You want me?’

‘Yes.’

She looked hard into his face then gave up.

‘At least that’s one truth you’re telling.’

She leaned forward and re-enacted her caressing and kissing ritual again. His eyes closed as he kissed back pressing her against the side of the Honda.
He opened his eye them briefly and froze in mid-kiss.
Ada opened her eyes and looked into his. Their lips were still locked but his was beginning to tremble.
On one of the side windows of the car was the reflection of a familiar face - the strange man in the white African lace.
The reflection folded its arms and shook its head disappointedly.

Segun broke the kiss and turned round sharply but there was no one standing behind him.
He looked at the window again. It was blank.
He yanked out his keys, opened the car and ordered a confused Ada to get in.

‘Segun what’s wrong?’

‘Let’s get the hell out of here. I think someone may be spying on us.’



The hotel they chose was on the outskirts of the town; a long distance from their regular rendezvous.
Segun kept the details of his encounter with the strange man hidden from Ada. He didn’t didn’t tell her anything about it for fear of sending her into a panic. Ada might be a tough chick but Segun knew where her weaknesses lay.

By the time they had caught their fun at the hotel’s garden club – danced to the music under the creative maneuver of a enigmatic DJ, had a few bottles of alcohol and chatted with other fellow night crawlers – Segun had totally forgotten what happened earlier; his dread had been washed away with an endless supply of beer and switched off by the sensual touches of his scandalously sensual companion. He was having the time of his life.

The night was colorful and full of energy…just like the surroundings of the hotel…just like the room lobbies which were littered with fornicating couples getting ready for the night’s main course.

Yes. The night was colorful and full of life…just like the room Segun and Ada booked…just like the sex they had that night.

The night was full of life…until that moment when Segun rose from the bed, freeing himself from the hold of a sleeping Ada to go and take a pee.

There standing by the big draped windows, arms folded and shaking his head disappointedly stood the stranger in the white lace fabric.

Segun almost peed on himself.

‘What the hell are you doing here? How did you get in?’ He ranted in an angry whisper.

The stranger said nothing but just kept looking at him. There was a blank expression on his face that made Segun feel uneasy.


Segun got out of the bed, he was in his briefs. His mind raced on what to do.
He couldn’t fathom why the man was in the room. Things had obviously generated to another level. What was this guy here to do? Was it finally to kill him?

‘Please I don’t know what it is you want but I’ll pay you double of what you were paid just to let me alone’, Segun said. He had mustered strength to put up a bold act but was disappointed when he heard the way his voice sounded. It had fear lined up all over his tone.

‘Please…I…I promise I won’t do this again…I’ll p-pay you whatever…’ He knew he was making promises he wasn’t sure he could keep but that was a bother for later.

‘Sorry. Too late.’ It was the first time the stranger had spoken since he appeared and his tone sounded firm and dead serious.

Segun lost his nerve. He had never in life felt morbid fear at such intensity. He suddenly felt a strange cold gust blow through his entire being.

He had to do something. He couldn’t allow this guy attack him without fighting back.
His eye caught sight of an empty flower vase on the writing table a few inches away from where he stood.
Acting on his survival instinct, he went for the vase.

He never got to pick it.

His hands seemed to go through the vase.

He blinked several times trying to figure out whether it was the beer that was still holding his senses captive but found out that he felt perfectly okay, he couldn’t even feel the usual hangover that followed. He checked the clock on the table. The time read 3:30am.
Something wasn’t right.

Then he heard Ada scream.

He swung round to find out what the commotion was about and froze when his eyes settled on the bed.

Ada was jumping about on the bed and screaming.

On the bed partially wrapped under the sheets lay a man that bore a striking resemblance to him.

It took Segun two minutes to realize he starring at his own corpse.

‘Come on Segun. Your time is up. It’s time to go’

Your time is up. That was the only thing he heard as reality dawned on him. Anguish welled up inside him and he let out a blood curdling scream…a scream no one would ever hear.

He sobbed uncontrollably and tried to reach out for his body but found the whole room had begun to somehow moving away from his reach. He turned to the stranger for answers but the man in the white african fabric had transformed. He was glowing with amazing and beautiful radiance...but his face looked mean.
Segun felt a knowledge coming upon him - that this was the messenger of death sent to take his soul.
He screamed for the second time as the angel took his hand and led him away into a dreaded vast waiting eternity.


Concluded

© Lolu Kush (Afronuts) - Story
© Kimson Masters - Illustrations


*Sorry I couldnt put up the illustration to this part. Blogger is messing with my settings.*