Kefaya!

I knew that kefaya meant enough but had no idea that it was actually an recognised moniker for an Egyptian coalition that has been opposing President Mubarak for quite some time.  There I was just trying to make sure that I was right and Google turned up this little nugget of information.  You learn something new everyday, it's true :).

I am however saying enough to the craziness of the Egyptian situation.  It has descended into people losing sight of their true goals I think.  Now there are machine guns, fire and stones drowning out the once peaceful protests against the current regime, now reduced to an echo we have to strain our ears to hear.  Mubarak has formally announced his commitment to stepping down in September, has officially declared that his son Gamal will not run in the next elections and has barred several ministers from fleeing the country by freezing their assets. And he has every right to fear that the country could fall into further disarray if he just ups and leaves as some would have him do. Now there are deaths and the injury count is inching ever closer to 1000 and all this happened in a day! At the same time, as many Western leaders have said, it looks unlikely that Mubarak can hold out until September.  The situation is getting worse and people fear what will happen tomorrow. I am happy that the army is stepping in now to separate the opposing groups.

Fear seems to be driving a lot of decisions lately.  In Algeria, in an attempt to counteract any attempts to protest a la Tunisia and Eygpt, the Algerian President has quickly employed countermeasures to appease his people.  President Bouteflika has annouced that the state of emergency imposed in the 90s to will be lifted very soon.  Who knew?!   There are so many things I do not know and it is no excuse that I am not the only one who was in the dark about North Africa.  I am glad that I am learning although I wish it had not been spurred by what is now turning into a tragedy.

To keep following the BBC is continuing its live feed with video and textual updates here.

You can also watch Al Jazeera live here.

The newly elected Prime Minister, Ahmed Shaqif, has apologised for yesterdays attacks.  He vowed that justice will prevail and  has condemned the violence stressing that the perpetrators will be sought out and punished.  Protesters believe that the pro-Mubarak factions are organised and sponsored by the government.  The weaponry that they are using is too sophisticated and it seems that they are working to a schedule.  The Prime Minister, while denying government involvement has indicated that if this is the case, it will be found out and dealt with all the same. Here is a video of his press conference:

Art's Healing Power

I am finally keeping to my word and writing a post I promised to write ages ago.  When I was flying home I read about this wonderful art festival happening in Luanda right now.  Il Trienal de Luanda is a triennial arts exhibition started by one of Angola's sons, Fernando Alvim.  It is the most renowned of its kind in Africa and features outdoor billboard paintings, formal exhibitions, television and radio debates, educational programmes, theatrical performances and more, with the proceeds from these events financing the finale in December. This celebration of art started on the 12th of September and goes on till December 19th so you still have time to catch it if you happen to be going to Angola any time soon. The point of the Triennial is to celebrate Angolan history and heritage, but also to help heal the wounds suffered from years of fighting.  I think this is a great way to attract people to Angola, just as with them holding the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year

Fernando Alvim is also curator of the Sindika Dokolo Collection, which is the largest collection of contemporary African Art in the world.  Artists from Algeria, Angola, Benin, Cameroun, Congo, Cote D'Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Madagascar, Marocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia and Zimbabwe are showcased, as well as artists from around the world.  I am particulary taken with this set of prints and this photo is so eerily involving. And I can't get over the fact that there is an artist called Nastio Mosquito ha ha ha ha ha ;}.

I have a love/ hate relationship with contemporary art. Some of it just seems so self-involved and important. I visited LACMA earlier in the year and the collection they had showing had me thinking: really??!!! Some of it you could put together yourself but as they say that is not the point, it's all about the experience. Whatever. I expect to be wowed by something I couldn't do myself.  I need to see creativity and ability that I cannot produce to appreciate.  A pile of boxes just doesn't do it for me I'm afraid...

World Cup Lessons

So sad...we have to wait another 4 years to experience World Cup fever again :(.  But have no fear, a little nostalgia will prolong the feeling just that little bit longer...Well just two days longer, the Final was only on Sunday...

So what have we learned over the last month? Have no fear I am here to tell you :)

World Cup fever does have an antidote. His name is Suarez. And he got what he deserved.

Karma is something not to take lightly.  If you trifle with it, there will be vengeance. Uruguay learned this. And if you think about it Algeria did too after their equally dodgy qualification to the Finals.

The Hand of God is alive and well and still wielding its power in football, albeit it in a twisted form, as demonstrated by the Green and Suarez.

Africans are not very good at using their own juju.  It seems to have helped the Europeans more. Sure Cote D'Ivoire were in the group of death and South Africa really didn't have a chance but what was Cameroun's excuse? And Algeria should have played better after denying Egypt, the African champions the chance to shine.

The next time we have a World Cup in Africa it should not be held in one of the coldest countries on the continent during "winter".  We need to take advantage of the heat like South America do to stop European teams from winning!

Do not underestimate the power that Mr. Boateng's loins has had on football and will have in the future.  Watch out the English Premier League!

The Black Stars are the light in African skies!

It is easy to pick what team you are on sometimes.  When it comes to Twilight (I know, my love of film takes me to very strange places) it's easy - Team Jacob. However when your fever has been mollified it can be hard to think logically when your mind is clear. I know, what an oxymoron.

The more you listen to Waka Waka, the more you realise how cartoonish and stereotypically useless the song is and wonder more and more why Wavin' Flag was not the official song...

Footballers are hot! ;} See here, here, here and here for proof he he he...

Nike and Coca Cola know how to market and create great adverts.

Paul the Octopus is amazing! Is it terrible to wonder whether his football prophesising is also an indicator of how tasty he is?

Footballers know how to cry appropriately - either due to the emotionality of losing quite terribly ala Gyan, of winning ala Iker Casillas or when appreciating the importance of the Word Cup ala "The People's Rooney".  Federer crying after losing the Australian Open because he couldn't tie Sampras' all-time Grand Slam record not so much.  His scant of tears of joy when he later won the French for the first time to equal Sampras and that fact that when he actually became the all-time great a month later at Wimbledon he didn't even cry wasn't good either!

Spain have something in their water. In the last two months Pau Gasol won the NBA Championships, Nadal has won the French and Wimbledon back to back for the second time and La Roja have won the World Cup!!!!

Whatever anyone may say i.e. the constant referral to how even though South Africa, a proxy for Africa, may be developing there are still problems - cue pictures of slums and little boys playing football in raggedy clothes, South Africa should be proud of the World Cup they hosted.  Having travelled the world some, this is true everywhere.  It may manifest itself differently, but whether you are in the West or the East, the North or the South of this planet, there are always disparities between the rich and the poor, but for some reason Africa is constantly being berated for this difference and in other places, the media is perfectly happy to hide them.  Which by the way makes it all the more shocking when you stumble upon these things, especially in the West.

South Africa 2010 will be remembered as the World Cup of firsts.

FOOTBALL IS THE BEST GAME ON EARTH!!!!!! And even though the Americans are to be commended for continuing to learn to appreciate the game, they have a long way to go in the media.  Even Paul who is an octopus gets it! Come on! I do have to say having watched a coupla matches at bars, it is clear that the public are getting into it.  However, this article REALLY annoyed me.  What kind of nonsense is this???!!! And to make it worse its written by a woman who is perpetuating the stereotypical view that women do not understand sport and couldn't care less. Silly silly woman! Which leads me to my next point...

It is a myth that women do not understand nor care for sport.  This is because a. sport is full of men in their prime flexing their muscles and being men which is thoroughly entertaining when coupled with the highs and lows of playing whatever game they are playing and b. you just need to be patient if the woman has been denied the opportunity to love sport and teach.  This is proven by the video below, which contains a lovely woman I know, but shall remain nameless, showing what World Cup fever can do to ESPN viewers and also by the fact that I have officially turned one of my roommates into a Nadal, basketball and football loving woman over the past year! Oh an the fact that my blog has been dominated by sports commentary for most of its short life ;)



We are ready for Brasil 2014 already he he he...

World Cup Update: Group Stage Oustings

Many apologies for my absence.  I have been watching and having heart attacks that have then been cured by moments of pure euphoria from World Cup Fever highs and lows. You have no idea how much the internet is a part of your life until it disappears for a significant period of time!!!

Cameroun and Nigeria are a disgrace.  Both clearly have no idea what African Pride means! Not even going to say anything about their pathetic ultimate performances that had them eliminated!

Algeria did well to draw in their last game so they did better than I had expected.

Even though Bafana Bafana are still boys, they were at least able to prove that they are looking to grow into men by beating France, who are now officially demoted from their exalted status as Africa in Europe after their backstage antics and lack of unity and ubuntu!

Cote D'Ivoire were unlucky, Portugal's 7-0 win, better than the Brasil's scoreline against North Korea, was a one off event that made it an uphill battle. They played a great third game and should be proud of how they played.  This is a lesson though: leave nothing to chance, always come out with guns blazing so you don't find yourself trying to climb too steep a mountain...When the job is already Herculean, there is not need to compound matters and make it Sisyphean!

My theory about wearing green and having a bad game have been further substantiated by all of these teams bowing out, all were wearing at least some green in their last battle!

The excuse of the overall lacklustre African performances at the World Cup is pressure.  UNACCEPTABLE! Talent is nothing if you cannnot use it when put to the test.  Will this always be the fate of African teams? Is this an allegory for Africa's role in the global millieu? That we have the potential to do amazing things and develop, even with scarce resources, as individuals but when our mettle is really tested collectively all we can do is fall short of even our OWN expectations??!!!

The only thing I am happy about is that Zidane has been avenged - Italy were knocked out of the groups stage and will not be able to defend their title. Karma??????

Ubuntu

Despite the disappointment surrounding the African teams, each one is proud of being at the World Cup and is honoured to represent Africa.  This article has some great quotes.


Gyan of Ghana: "We are praying for the other African countries because it is very, very important for us Africans to make sure that we go further than in the past. That is our ambition, not Ghana, but the whole of Africa."


Yahia of Algeria "It's important because Africa has made a huge contribution to the game of football. To host this World Cup is a great source of pride for us as Africans, and to be able to represent Algeria on African soil really doubles that feeling of pride."


This article also highlights how the Sahara being used to divide the continent is fabricated.  It is something I have always not liked about how Africa is presented in Western Media.  Every time I watch the Africa Cup of Nations I always think about how North African teams are just as passionate, they do their dances when they score just like the rest of the continent and are proud to win, as Egypt was earlier this year.  If they didn't feel African, why would they bother to be associated with the competition?  Why would Libya be calling for a United States of Africa? I hate how divisions are created and/ or sustained to perpetuate the fractures caused by history on the continent.  We Africans also need to do better to expose and deny them too!

Green Redeemed

Not the goalie Green - he was replaced in England's starting line-up, but the colour, courtesy of Algeria's valiant effort for a better outcome that keeps them in contention to qualify from Group C.  England's continued lacklustre performance allowed Algeria to put themselves back in the race.  Their change from white to green jerseys seemed to bring them luck. Improving from a loss to a draw gives us hope for another upgrade to a win in their last game. England need to find another striker, as much as they want Rooney to step up, he just can't seem to do it on his own.  Man U is clearly suffering without Ronaldo and England have not been able to benefit at all from Rooney, he has gone 7 games without a goal now!

Poor USA! Not only have I been riding ESPN about their coverage of the games and the team not understanding the essence of the game, but the poor call from Malian Referee, Koman Coulibaly, really denied them the chance to prove themselves on the world stage.  I have seen Coulibaly in action at the African Cup and remember thinking what a bad ass he is. Very disappointed :(! The denied goal scorer, Edu, didn't understand the call but didn't contest and Howard talked about how difficult it is to officiate corners and that he was satisfied with the way referees have been conducting themselves thus far.  Either something we didn't see or hear happened or Coulibaly made a terrible human error and none of the other officials had anything to offer to counter his call.  We can't rely completely on the camera angles as they don't tell us everything and don't give the same view referees have in the moment both in terms of sight and hearing and the ensuing conjecture from the pundits is just that, conjecture. Donovan  asked what happened and the referee said nothing.  Referees don't have to explain their actions to players, what they say goes, these are FIFA's rules.  Donovan went on to say that he didn't think that Coulibaly could speak English and his tone insinuated that this meant that obviously he wasn't very bright.  Speaking English does not equate to brains my friend. He should be weary of speaking in such a fashion on the world stage as things like that give people the wrong impression about Americans.  Reminds me of Andy Roddick when he gets mad and condescends to umpires, especially ones with native tongues other than English.

Germany have given Ghana the chance to top the group tomorrow.  THE BLACK STARS WILL BLIND THE SOCCEROOS. Because I said so ha ha ha! As they say "One Game Changes Everything!".  And once again one goal did too ;)

This World Cup is full of surprises and the ones today were a lot better :)

False Redemption Comes In Green :(

I AM NOT A HAPPY PUPPY! Was already upset with Nigeria, but the optimist in me was hoping that their first loss and/ or the fact that this is an African World Cup would spur them to success. And when Uche scored in the 15th minute, I was duped into believing that this was possible.  There they were flying like the Super Eagles they can be, and I was hoping that Nigeria would soar to victory.

But their flight was shortlived and they came crashing down after Kaita was red carded for a very stupid loss of composure on his part.  They then went from Super Eagles back to Mediocre Pigeons when Greece scored their  FIRST GOAL EVER! at the World Cup and then into Headless Chickens when Obasi missed a chance to take Nigeria ahead and then Greece scored AGAIN!!!! At least I can take solace in the fact that Mikel was spared the embarrassment of being part of this underachieving squad!

And to make it worse France decided to join in with a complementary Poulet Sans Tete performance and lost 0-2.  Will both of my teams in Group B fail to qualify??!!!

At this point I only have unwavering confidence in Ghana and Cote D'Ivoire, South Africa are definitely out.  Cameroun and Algeria could surprise me but right now I am so riled up I cannot put too much into that, my heart can't take it! :( Knowing me I still will anyways. It seems I am a glutton for punishment...

The Black Stars Are Shining Bright In The African Sky

Was a little worried about Essien not being able to play this World Cup.  Was even more worried when Sulley Muntari was omitted from the starting line-up due to his thigh injury, even though it was rumoured he would be fighting fit for Serbia.  However as my little one from Ghana promised me, the boys pulled through.  The Black Stars are the epitome of African football, African Pride and African survival.    They were so poised, not too ambitious but not too cautious, just right.  Just beautiful! Just beautiful! It was good to see Appiah playing for a bit too, I have missed him. You can see why this team was a finalist at the Africa Cup earlier this year. Algeria's 0-1 loss to Slovenia highlights the unfortunate fact that the Eygptians, the current Africa Cup champions should have been in South Africa.  They are in a difficult group with Germany who won 4-0 to Australia but I think they can pull through in second place for sure if they continue to play with such level heads.

All I have to say to the Serbian coach is maybe you should tie your player's octopus hands behind their backs because clearly they have issues controlling them ;}

Here is video of Gyan's penalty that gave Ghana the lead deservedly.  Pity he couldn't get that second goal, I think it was one of the best misses of the tournament if you can have such a thing :}



And here is a cute video I found of a little Afghan girl giving Ghana's football history.  She really knows her stuff!

Euphemism Of The Day: Mediocre Pigeons

To Nigeria:

Do not name yourselves Super Eagles when in reality you are Mediocre Pigeons.  All will be revealed when in the end all you produce is crap.


This not only applies to football, but to any instance in life when grandiose attributions are rewarded to ultimately generic entities.


So disappointed with their performance.  The same old same old, they qualify for the World Cup and then lose their marbles when they get there.  The Super Eagles could take a page from the Black Stars who live up to their name consistently! Hopefully the Naija Boys will redeem themselves and win the next two games, giving themselves the chance to qualify to the Round of 16.  Argentina are proving the pundits wrong.  Maradona seems to be a great coach despite being a crazy player and even though Messi has yet to find his form, the rest of the team are on point.  I expect they will be a huge threat throughout the tournament.

England vs. USA...All I have to ask is WHO IS GREEN?  He was certainly acting "green" on the pitch, that fumble was terrible! My eager to learn about football roommate asked me who he was and I was like I have no idea, I'm actually quite worried and not long after he let the bleeping ball in.  Was not a happy puppy Bob as my sister says. Watching the game out and about was fun, however, I was clearly outnumbered because I ended up at just a regular bar not an English pub because crazy English people had camped out since 4 am to get in for the Algeria game at 5am and wouldn't budge!!!  I personally would not be so proud of benefiting from such a mistake but as my father says "In the end a goal is a goal".  I commend Dempsey though.  Have huge respect for him ever since the 2006 games, he literally saved face for the USA.  He was only one who seemed to actually be playing football.  I remember them saying back then he used to practice with Mexicans when he was younger and thinking, well that explains everything ;}!  Howard also played a fine game too. Without him I don't think the US would have pulled out the draw from Uncle Sam's hat. If indeed he has broken ribs I do not think it is too pessimistic to say that the USA's World Cup will be over soon.

There is an African connection on the USA team. This time its not whether Freddie Adu will play for Ghana or the USA (good riddance to  him though, clearly not an all-together dude).  We  have eye candy born of Nigerian parents in the form of Oguchi (Gooch) Onyewu who currently plays for AC Milan.

Also related, it was clear that Beckham wanted to be part of this World Cup with him being very animated from the bench, which reminded me of the Addidas campaign.  They opted for Zinedine Zidane to be the flagship player, have top players including Messi and Kaka and completely omit Becks! I found that rather strange, are we all Becked out? Beautiful ad though!



And here is another cute Addidas ad that really captures the essence of African kids playing football. I remember making a ball out of plastic bags or the plastic net bags onions/ potatoes come in when our ball needed to be replaced, pumped or happened to get lost somehow for whatever game we were playing :).

Watch World Cup Kick-Off Concert TODAY!!!

It will be on at 8pm CAT, 7pm UK Summer Time, 6pm GMT, 2pm EST and 11am PST.  To watch it online make sure to go to World Cup Vevo, where there is also a countdown to when it will be showing. It will also be broacast live on TV, so check your local listings. It seems ESPN are dedicated to making up for their 2006 coverage and will be broadcasting the concert live on ESPN 2 :)

World renowned artists Alicia Keys, Black Eyed Peas and John Legend are featured, and of course Shakira will be there to perform the official song with Freshly Ground.

I am glad to see that the majority of the acts are African:  Amadou and Mariam, Angelique Kidjo, BLK JKS, Hugh Masekela, K'NAAN, Lira, Mzansi Youth Choir, Soweto Youth Choir, Tinirawen, The Parlotones, Vieux Farka Toure and Vusi Mahlasela.

And here is K'NAAN's song, Wavin' Flag - The People's Anthem, that is considered the unofficial World Cup Anthem:

And here it is featured in the World Cup Coca Cola campaign:





And here is Pepsi's response but they should know that Coke is unrivaled in the World and particularly in Africa. On the continent it is basically the ONLY choice coz it tastes better for one and in South they were one of the first companies to support Black businesses and businessmen during Apartheid. Having Drogba, Lampard, Messi, Kaka and Henry in the ad plus having an Akon song is nice but won't be enough to sway people to stock Pepsi over Coke I'm afraid! It's a good ad though I do have to say...

It's Raining Sports!

Nadal has transitioned to grass seemlessly, winning his first match at Queen's Club decisively.  He is also the first player to qualify for the ATP World Tour Finals in London as well!

The Lakers won at Boston yesterday and now lead the series 2-1.  Game 4 is going to be awesome!!!

And these are the teams I will be following to see how they fare in the first round. Of course all African teams are included, plus ones I have attributed an African connection to over the years and teams to keep an eye on for sentimental and/ or potential threat reasons. This culminates in following almost half the teams in the draw ha ha ha! They are listed in order of preference in each category too ;}

Africa: Cote D'Ivoire, Ghana, Cameroun, Nigeria, Algeria, South Africa

Africa around the World: Brazil, France

Teams to Keep an Eye on: Spain, England, Argentina, Portugal, Germany

TWO WEEKS UNTIL THE WORLD CUP!!!

Unfortunately the South African Tenor, Siphiwo Ntshebe, died recently and will not have the honour of performing at the opening ceremony and the Algerians suffered a thrashing from the Irish in a friendly in preparation for the finals, 3-0.  And my beloved Essien is injured. However, we still have much to look forward to!

To keep updated make sure to check up on the Official Site and come here too of course!

And here is something to really get you excited.  Can't believe I spent $5 to get this! The Vanity Fair article was terrible because it was trying to school Americans once and for all about the beauty of football.  All they had to say about the World Cup and Africa was this: 

"African football is marvelously exciting.  No African country has ever gotten past the quarter-finals, but they play with an eager, individualistic enthusiasm, often without any apparent defensive strategy.  In South Africa, while rugby and cricket were played by the white ascendancy, deafening football has always been the game of the township."

:(

But the photos were absolutely beautiful and the recounting of pivotal moments in the game such as England 1966 win and Zidane's head-butting debacle were spot on.

So here is the front cover, and I will post the rest of the goodies on the inside in coming posts...

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