Happy New Month! + Face of World Nigeria in pictures

When you read inspiring quotes they may motivate you, evoke powerful emotions, and strike a chord with your own thoughts and feelings. In short, they can have a profound effect on you.

Whatever you want to do and achieve, go for it. Take a step forward today towards your goals in life. Only some days will you feel inspired, moved and focused enough to achieve your goals.

Make this month one of those months and pursue what you want with all your heart, body and mind. Believe in yourself and your abilities, focus on your goals. For today, let your desires and ambitions shine. Steel yourself for action and make today great.

It is never easy to face your fears, self-doubts and gain the confidence to pursue your dreams. But it is harder and sadder to look back with regrets tomorrow and in future years on what you didn't do when you had the chance. Your time is precious, so throw caution to the wind.

Just for today, achieve your secret dreams and desires, and trust in yourself. To paraphrase Walt Disney, 'Don't dream it, do it'

Happy new month!

By the way, this is the month of my birth...September!



Here also are pix of Face of World Nigeria Pageant that took place last weekend, courtesy purefoto.com












These guys look...? Hope your weekend's going well. Later!

Suicide attempt + other news

I heard handsome actor, Owen Wilson tried to kill himself on Sunday August 26th 2007. He had slit his left wrist and consumed an unknown quantity or unspecified pills. He's presently recovering in a hospital in Beverly Hills. I found it hard to believe initially because he looked like a happy person to me. This got me thinking, it's not everyone you see who looks happy that is really happy. People manage to hide their innermost pain and fear and put up a brave front for the world...later you hear they killed or tried to kill themselves. Why would anyone, for whatever reasons try to kill themselves? How bad could it be? Why would you want to end it all? I'm trying to understand the kind of mentality that would allow someone think it's ok to take his/her life...what kind of pain will cause such thoughts and action? I remember some years ago in Lagos when a husband and wife killed themselves via poison, because they were evicted from the one thousand and four complex on Ozumba Mbadiwe, Victoria Island, leaving their three young kids to the care of their family members. There have been a few incidents like that in some parts of Nigeria...I just can't seem to fathom such irrational behaviour. Some people, like myself, are so scared of dying, while others go out of their way to end it all? I understand homosexuality..sorta, but I don't understand suicide.


Here's a doctor's take on why people commit suicide

People attempt and sometimes commit suicide for very different reasons, many of which can be difficult to figure out or identify. In most cases, the person is feeling emotional pain that feels so bad and hurts them so much that the only thing they can think of to make it go away is to end their life.

Also most suicidal people describe their problems as being something that they don't think will get better or go away. At the same time, others feel as if they are a burden. Others feel alone or very isolated.

Still others just feel generally depressed to the point of not caring anymore. And when friends and family members can't understand or relate, or worse, criticize them for what they are feeling, that can make the person worse. I should also mention that there are many mental illnesses that can increase one's risk for suicide such as clinical depression, bipolar or manic depression and schizophrenia.

People with these conditions may do things that they wouldn't normally do. Speaking of which, alcohol and drug use also contributes to the reasons someone may attempt suicide since they can cause depression, feelings of guilt and disruptions to the persons family and life.

Anyone ever had suicidal feelings?

To other news...



Singer, Gloria Estafan will be 50 years old tomorrow September 1st 2007. Can anyone believe this diva is 50? I would have passed her up for a 40 year old. Happy birthday to the woman who sang one of my all time best songs...'Reach'


It's such a relief to hear that Toni Braxton does not have breast cancer after all. International media, over the past few days, carried unconfirmed reports of the songstress being diagnosed with breast cancer. Toni says it's not true. Thank God!


Naked Mariah Carey...who wants to see her naked? I do! She looks hot abeg!

Alicia Keys quote

“…I am not interested in guys in the industry. They are tainted,” she says with a playful hint of repulsion. “You sit back and wonder, how many women has this man slept with. and I don’t want to know. No thanks, I will never be a part of anyone’s list.”

I feel you on that one Alicia

Akon is such an evasive fellow....here's an interview he granted recently...crazy guy! lol

How old are you?

I don’t know how old I am.

Nonsense. Why are you so cagey about giving your age?

I don’t understand the importance. But I’ve been blessed to look young for a long time. My pops is 77 years old. You wouldn’t believe it; he looks like he’s in his mid-40s.

Does your wife know how old you are?

She has no idea.

When was your last booty call?

When I made the call? That don’t happen too often. But sometimes I’ll schedule a booty call on Saturday for Monday.

So it’s up to the ladies to call you?

With women it’s difficult, ’cause they try to hide it. They’ll call you at three in the morning like, “Hey, how was your day?”

So do you funnel all that energy into sex?

I have to control myself around women. That’s my only addiction. I used to chase it, but fame has changed a lot.Who says no to you now?I ain’t got a no in a long time.

Do you have any kids?

Four boys and one girl. The oldest is 11, and the youngest is 7 weeks.

How many babymamas?

Three.

And how many wives? People say you have more than one.

That’s me playing with the media again! Just one wife.

Is she OK with you being unfaithful to her?

From my angle, things just happen. She’s confident enough to know that I’m not going anywhere.

When was the last time you wanted to kill someone?

When I was locked up. A guy was being really disrespectful, so I had to knock him out. He fell and looked dead, and that scared the hell out of me.

Do you remember your first experience with alcohol?

Never drank, never smoked.

Why not?

I’m Muslim, but really, I never understood the concept of getting high. I like to be in control of my own mind and my own destiny.

What’s the best advice your parents ever gave you?

“Stay out of trouble.”

You didn’t take that advice!

I know! But I live by it now.

Even when you lifted a fan over your head and threw him offstage in June?

That was all in fun.

It wasn’t fun for the guy you threw! Or the people he landed on.

Yeah, I know. That was an accident — they weren’t supposed to be there.

Fun and crazy guy!

Princess Diana's tenth year anniversary

Princess Diana died exactly 10 years today in a car accident in France...

What a beautiful woman. What a loss!

By the way, is rapper Talib Kweli a South African or an American?

And who has seen Talib's newest video where he was gesticulation with his hands? That's the doppest video right now...creativity at it's finest I say...go check out that video.

Do drop a line. Cheers and have a fab weekend!

The world's best brand of electronics is?

What's the world's best electronics? LG, Sony or Sharp?

LG

Sony

Sharp

Let's know what you think and tell us why you picked a particular brand.

Family Values

So I have these cousins who were born in the village. Their parents brought them back to Lagos when they were 6, 5 and 3, and they've been living in Lagos since then but the irony of it all is that these cousins of mine can neither speak Igbo which is their native language nor the Yoruba language, where they grew up. All they can speak is English...weird right? Considering that they were born in their village.

My sisters and I were all born in Lagos, and we hardly visit the village, but we speak Igbo fluently because that was the language our parents spoke with us...we have never conversed in English with my parents.

So my question is this: those of you who live abroad and have started a family, how do you ensure that your children understand and can speak their native language?

My best friend's wedding + Personalities + Naija Entertainment news

My best friend's wedding.
I met him in 2003. I don't think any man has loved me half as much as he did...he was always there for me everytime I needed him, he waited for three years, hoping I'd give us a chance to be together but I never did. He was sweet, gentle, caring and my best friend...he always knew what to say to make me smile, he was good to me and even though I was with someone else, he was hopeful, praying, waiting. I remember one day last year, he looked at me and said I'll make you happy, give me a chance, I deserve you...I only laughed and I saw the hurt in his eyes...I was inlove with someone else then so it didn't matter. HE waited for THREE years and I never gave him a chance...not once!

So last month, after my break up, I went looking for him...but guess what? He was already engaged...he was tired of waiting, of hoping, of hurting. And he finally met a woman more sensible than me, a woman who saw the great guy he is, a lucky woman.

I got to my senses but it was too late...too late. My best friend is getting married in November. It's still hard to believe, I guess I always thought he would always be there...you never know what you have until you loose it. November should have been u and I, or maybe it should have been back in 2004 when you first asked my dad for my hand in marriage and I got angry with you for going behind my back? How could I have been so stupid? Sometimes, I wish I could turn back the hands of time and do it all over again...but I can't. My only promise is that I won't even consider getting married until I meet a man half the man you are. Congrats to you G. All the best!


Personalities


Allison Hinds was born 1 June 1970, and is based in the Caribbean island of Barbados.
She is one of the most popular soca singers in the world and has unofficially been given the nickname the "Queen of Soca". Currently Allison Hinds lives with her family, husband Edward Walcott and daughter Saharan (born May 4th, 2004), on a privately owned horse farm, which her husband manages, in Barbados. She has her own band, "The Allison Hinds Show". This band was formed in 2005 when Hinds returned to the soca scene with the hit song "Roll It Gyal" which is an anthem for young women and encourages them to have pride in themselves. I love that song and thought to pay tribute to her.


Introducing Kaysha


Hip hop/Zouk artist Kaysha is the stage name of Edward Mokolo Jr (born January 22, 1974 in Kinshasa). One of the most eclectic rappers and producers to work on places like the West indies, South America and Africa. He was born in Democratic Republic of Congo but immigrated to France with his parents at the age of seven. Kaysha is very well known for his first hit single which uses a sample from West Indian band Kassav's Oulé in a song called "Bounce Baby", which introduced him to fans all over the world.
Kaysha's first two hits were "Telephone" and "Bounce baby" from his album I'm Ready. The next year, he changed his whole style to record a more urban album called Worldwidechic with a duo with Wu Tang Clan's Killah Priest. His latest hit to date is "On dit quoi", a huge hit all around Africa, from his latest album It's All Love, released in his own label Sushiraw.
Kaysha is also a successful music producer.
He won a Kora award for best African Artist in 2000. He won a Kora award for best African Artist of the Diaspora in 2004. He was also nominated as African artist of the year at the 2006 MTV awards. He's so cute! Who likes Kaysha?


Entertainment Gists

Peter Igbinedion looses wife
The wife of Peter Igbinedion, younger brother to former Edo State Governor, Eva Maria Uzonwanne, is dead. She died on Saturday August 18th 2007 at the age 47. The mother of four has already been buried. May her soul rest in peace.

Joseph Yobo just completed a N100 million property he's been working on for some time now. The property is sited on one of the most popular streets in highbrow Victoria Garden City, Lagos. N100 million really?

Soul E and wife, Ure banned from church
Seriously I don't know how true this is, but they say that singer, Soul e and his pregnant wife, Ure Ukezie have been banned from their church, Household of God, where they met and fell in love, by the the head pastor, Chris Okotie. His reason being that he advised the couple not to get married because of the age difference, but they did! Soul e denies being banned, saying he left voluntarily.

I'll give you more gists later, got to get back to work. Cheers!

Personality: Dr Alban turns 50

Nigerian-born, Sweden-based singer, Dr. Alban turned 50 years old on Sunday August 26th. Alban Nwapa was born in Enugu, Nigeria in 1957. He is a musician and a producer with his own record label, dr-records. His music can best be described as a Eurodance/hip-hop reggae with a dancehall style

At age 23, he began studying odontology. In order to be able to finance his university studies the music-loving odontology student started making his own music. During this time Alban worked as a DJ in the well-known Stockholm club 'Alphabet Street'. Very quickly his name became widely known, especially since Alban often sang to the records he put on the turntable as a DJ. DJ René couldn't help but notice him and so he was discovered. Alban finished his studies and even opened his own dentistry practice, keeping his disk jockeying as a lucrative sideline. He worked as a dentist for three years.

In 1990, he met Denniz PoP from the SweMix label. Alban laid aside his dentist's drill and realised his dream. Together with Denniz and Rap-Queen Leila K, his first record, "Hello Africa" - his declaration of love for his African home - broke all records. Alban Nwapa took the stage name Dr. Alban, a nod to his dental studies. His debut album Hello Africa sold roughly 1 million copies world-wide.

One year later this success was surpassed by the second album One Love. 1.6 million singles of the song "It's My Life" were sold. It was #1 in the Netherlands, Israel and Germany and #2 in the UK. The following single "One Love" was #5 in Israel. The album immediately sold over 1.7 million units. Then followed the albums Look Who's Talking and Born In Africa. All in all, Dr. Alban has racked up world-wide sales of over 5 million albums and over 6 million singles, which resulted in 7 times Silver, 30 times Gold and 30 times Platinum. His hit single "No Coke" was used to illustrate an anti-drugs campaign in Sweden. The single "Sing Hallelujah" reached #5 in Israel.

He is the cousin to Charly Boy! And he has a daughter.

He is the coolest guy in the world! Happy fiftieth birthday to you Alban. Kisses!

Random Gist

I did it, I did it, I did it! So yesterday, I shot the first and second episode of my TV programme...it didn't go as smoothly as I'd hoped but we managed to get it done...I'll get you pictures of what went down. !



Meanwhile, the girl in the middle, Ashley Abanum, was the winner of the first episode and another model called Yewande won the second episode...will load pix later


Be there!

And here's introducing 19 year old Mulenga Mubanga, a young Zambian Model taking the modeling industry by storm







Age 19, hip 89cm, height 1.76m, bust 84m, waist 61cm, shoe size 8

Check out her website at, http://www.mulengamubanga.com/

Here are pictures from the Nigerian Fashion week courtesy purefoto.com

The organiser, Lexxy Mojo Eyes

I hope they keep this up


And here's introducing Ndu

Introducing one of Canada's best kept secrets, Ndu and the release of his album, the TWILIGHT. Canada's/Nigeria's own independent hip hop artist NDU's latest release features hard hitting and lyrically rich tracks such as "Coming for the Crown" "Turn Me Up" "Everyday Thang" "Lil Poetry" etc.

The Twilight was produced by Ndu himself and Canadian Producer Andrew Mackay. The Track "Lil Poetry" has Ndu ripping the mic like a hungry new comer and showcases a man of wide ranging tastes. Ndu's jazzy tunes and great lyrical component leaves the crowd screaming for more.

"Ndu" which means "LIFE" in the Igbo Language, is known for his diverse lyrical style, intelligent rhymes and stage presence and is sure to bring LIFE into the entertainment industry.

His style has been influenced by wide range of artists such as Fela, Nas, Tu-Pac, Erykah Badu Notorious BIG and more.

Ndu has performed in numerous events including the Nigerian Award Show Event in Canada, Ndu's great talent has generated a buzz in Canada's underground hip hop scene.

Performing at the Lloyd banks concer

Fela Anikulapo Kuti death anniversary press release

This year marks the 10th year anniversary of the death of the founder of Afro beat, Fela Kuti and it is being celebrated in his homecountry, Nigeria in a very big way. Poet, Philosopher, Rebel, King,Fela meant a lot of things to different people and was a man of thepeople. This event will celebrate his music, his life, and all themany truths he shared with his fans in his music and his life.While there are several events planned around the world, by variousorganizations, to mark the 10-year anniversary of Fela's death,FELABRATION 10 will be the only one taking place in Nigeria, at theShrine in Lagos (Fela's spiritual home) and hosted by the Kuti family.FELABRATION will be the only authentic, all-encompassing event to markthe life and death of one of the world?s truly original artists. The event which has been tagged "FELABRATION 10" is a 5-daycelebration of Fela's life, music and spirit holds from the 9th-16thof October 2007. The events scheduled include:? Tue October 9th: World Movie Premiere of the previously unreleasedspecial movie of Fela ?Shuffering and Shmiling? and Kick Off Partyfeaturing celebrity DJ, Koffi? Wed October10th: Ladies Night. A day dedicated to the ladies tocelebrate Fela featuring special performances by frontline Nigerianfemale artists such as Zeal, Sasha, Niyola, Asa and many more.? Thursday October 11th: Classics and Yabis night featuring Veteranartists like Fatai Rolling Dollars and Victor Olaiya with acecomedians, Basket Mouth, Tee A and Julius Agwu handling the Yabisspecial. (Don?t forget Baba inspired most of the frontline comediansas a grand Yabis Master himself)? Friday October12th: Fela is Hip Hop featuring International hip hopartist, Nas as well as top Nigerian hip hop stars such as Mode 9,Ikechukwu, Naeto C, Thoroughbreds and Lord of Ajasa have already beenconfirmed to celebrate Fela, the hip hop way! (More to come)? Saturday October 13th: Block Party. All roads lead to the Shrine fora Street Party featuring Damian Marley and most of the big names inNigeria?s music industry.? Sunday October 14th: Fashion for Fela by award winning designer,Deola Sagoe featuring International models Oluchi, Agbani and Nnennaamongst many others. This will be followed by special performances byFemi and Seun Kuti.? Monday October 15th: All day Free feeding at the Shrine by theUnited Nations World Food Project (UNWFP)? Tuesday October 16th: Music Business Conference. The conference willbe held in honor of Fela with an aim to elevate the Nigerian musicindustry. The event will join major businesses, major players in theindustry as well as International resource people. Issues such aspiracy, distribution, broadcast, new technologies, internationalmarkets, regional markets, corporate support, the power of music to drive youth marketing and brands will be dealt with.


And here's the Koko master, D'banj, at a concert in the US

That's all for today, will see you later. Ciao!