Nneka - Africans

It's an inside job... as always

"For quite many years, Sierra Leone and other African countries received aid but it does not necessarily get us any where.  We are not looking into the future, we are not designing our own future.  Unless we have a host of young people who can think, at any given point, that here's a challenge, that here's a problem where there's an opportunity to solve it, there won't be a steady growth in national development." David Sengeh, from Sierra Leone and current Ph.D. candidate at MIT

Sengeh runs a Summer Innovation Camp in Sierra Leona "...that challenges kids to think about the toughest problems in their community and have them solve it.  Kelvin's team applied to build an FM radio station for community empowerment and people listened religiously to his radio station... it's very inspirational."  Kelvin is known as DJ Focus in his community and he calls himself this because he believes "...if you focus you can do invention perfectly."

See his story here:
http://www.thetakeaway.org/2012/dec/12/encouraging-culture-innovation/

 

Africa on the Web... cont'd

Layers of training and practice... to be consistent and to get the work done.  Not enough to amass knowledge for knowledge's sake, but to the end of entering/continuing the conversation about contemporary Africa.  Today I'm thinking about countries in Africa defining themselves for themselves.  As I look for media about what's going on in countries such as Ghana where an election just took place, and South Africa, where Mandela continues to be hospitalized, the media I'm pulling from are always outside the continent, in the UK, the US, etc.  This is part of my mission, to research what is being highlighted by Western media - but today I'm more interested in how African nations define themselves and how far reaching are their media.  This is consistent with a theme of mine today (and always) around defining ourselves for our self and the well recognized reality that we are also products of our genetics, upbringings, social cultural environments and economic realities. 

Sampling of headlines

African Nations' Headlines:
Ghanaweb.com: I Am Overwhelmed by the Victory - Prez Mahama
http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/

The Guadian Nigeria: NAPTIP, Groups Want Anti-Trafficking Campaign in Rural Areas
http://ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=107286:naptip-groups-want-anti-trafficking-campaign-in-rural-areas&catid=1:national&Itemid=559

Daily Nation Kenya: Great News for Employees but a Legal Minefield for Investors
http://www.nation.co.ke/Features/smartcompany/The-ruling-that-shook-the-market/-/1226/1639980/-/1vud41z/-/index.html


North American & European Nations' Headlines:
Boston.com: S Africa Worried as Mandela Remains in the Hospital
http://www.boston.com/2012/12/10/fae-entry-cont/0J6sZtVhlO7d9qWYJ8dFOK/story.html

BBC UK: Rhino Poaching: South Africa and Vietnam Sign Deal
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20670012

Toronto Star: How South Africa's Dream Turned into a Grim Reality
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1299251--apartheid-flourishes-in-the-new-south-africa

Bravery... change

I was talking to my students yesterday about the importance of doing the things that make us nervous, how it builds strength and character to overcome fears to do something worthwhile.  As I was walking in the evening I saw a blind woman crossing the street in NYC and I thought of the bravery it takes to walk the world without sight, to walk the city without sight.  Today I'm thinking about how much bravery, how much courage it takes to change.  I have long thought of myself as adventurous but there are many, many ways that I hang onto the known, to the old.  I can't even bring myself to give up my old cell phone!  I tend to place value on the old because I don't like waste or consuming just to consume or innovation that seats us further from our center... but I realize that I also hold and value the old because it's a known entity.  There's such comfort in what is known.  But little adventure or learning.

I used to think of stepping into the unknown as jumping off a cliff.   I like this metaphor because it has in it both a decided initially willful act and an effortless entry into adventure... jumping to free fall through air...

days 2 and 3

2. African apps take on mobile gaming industry

http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/02/tech/mobile/games-mobile-phones-africa/index.html

3. Africa is a Country Blog:
http://africasacountry.com

African Contemporary Art Gallery, Lisbon:
http://www.africancontemporary.com/index.htm

Contemporary African Art Gallery, New York:
http://www.contempafricanart.com/current-show.html

Threads of Time, Nnenna Okore, Nigeria

Day I: Africa on the Web

So as I continue to dig for information about the Western con/perception of Africa in our quickly shifting contemporary digital media context, I decided to launch a bit of an experiment for my daily writings to keep my investigations live:  for the next 28 days I will be documenting snapshots of views on Africa from the Web.  Today, from that omnipresent search engine, Google.

Day I:

Google in Africa (12 May 2012): http://www.economist.com/node/21554566

Africa's Economy: Bulging in the Middle (20 Oct 2012): http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21564856-boom-sub-saharan-africa-attracting-business-talent-rich-world

Official Google Africa Blog: http://google-africa.blogspot.com

Google in Your Language, Africa Community Translation: https://sites.google.com/site/gwscommunitytranslation/

Google Doodles for Africa: http://www.oafrica.com/uncategorized/gallery-google-doodles-for-africa/

Africa Day. May 25, 2011.

There is a way through every block

There is a way through every block... heard and read today.  Remembering how I try to think my way out of/into solutions and then reminded of this hard thinker's true companion: intuition.  My acupuncturist used to say to me weekly: "I can tell you've been thinking a lot this week."  She really meant "too much."

What I'm reading:
http://mergingrivers.com/blog/?p=334

http://gabbyb.tv/vlogging/a-meditation-to-bust-through-your-blocks?inf_contact_key=4387b9675a0dabb9a405bb38d5abf1fffdf73737de7e72989b01b7166a7fc2a9

http://yogiinthesun.blogspot.com/2012/07/practice-practice-practice.html

Living understanding

Once in a blue moon, I realize that I'm living the understanding of adages I've heard my whole life... some that came to mind today...

Change is the only constant

The grass is always greener on the other side

Who don't hear gonna feel

If you can walk you can dance, if you can talk you can sing

Don't be afraid of your own shadow

Love is my religion

It's about the journey, not the destination

The present moment is all we have
this heard so many times
resonant now and still hard to grasp
as my thoughts fly away to fantasy
to fetter(s)
to  that which I don't want
to manifest
so I pull them back
slow down
concentrate again
reset.

I am here now (breathe in)
I let go (breathe out, smile).

Consistency

From Dictionary.com

con·sist·en·cy

   [kuhn-sis-tuhn-see] 

noun, plural con·sist·en·cies.

1.

a degree of density, firmness, viscosity, etc.: The liquid has the consistency of cream.

2.

steadfast adherence to the same principles, course, form,etc.: There is consistency in his pattern of behavior.

3.

agreement, harmony, or compatibility, especially correspondence or uniformity among the parts of a complex thing: consistency of colors throughout the house.

4.

the condition of cohering or holding together and retaining form; solidity or firmness.

A la Jeannie and after Vyvyane

I woke this morning thinking about consistency.  I was thinking about #2 on the list as it relates to discipline and motivation.  I then quickly thought of #1 and the relation to texture and texture's relation to my enjoyment of consuming something (follow me?).  I realize that my desire for consistency in my actions towards my goals is so that I can achieve a certain firmness and coherence (#4)... a certain heartiness, a weighted density to my actions which for me is so much more enjoyable.  Which brings me to #3.  There are so many moving parts in my life and so many competing priorities and I think about my need to organize the parts. Today I'd rather think of it as achieving harmony among the parts... something that I can orchestrate with my consistency but the organization of which will only be done partly by me because I believe in the infinite organizing power of that which is greater than me too.  Today my intention is to clarify all of my desires (I have to want them badly!) and to re-discover love to spawn motivation, discipline, and energy in all that I do.  

I'm a Wild Thing!

It’s an eerily beautiful evening. The sun has gone down, a nice breeze is blowing and the air is coming in through the window. I can see the trees waving through the picture window in my living room. I’m so fortunate to have been born where I was, to the parents that I had, to live where I live… nothing is ideal, but I’ve had choices and I’ve made choices. It’s true that I live a relatively stable life and I actually long for some exciting change, and I feel like I’m on the cusp of big, juicy change that will hopefully yield a more satisfying life for me and for my daughter. That kind of change can’t come quick enough. I’m restless for it. I want it. Then there are the changes I can’t control. The kind that I don’t want, the kind that I’m not prepared for, that I’m impatient to endure. My daughter was not feeling well today; she was fine yesterday. She griped about her pain and I alternately soothed and nurtured her and felt impatient to endure staying in the apartment all day, which had not been my plan today. So many times things don’t go as planned and/or unexpected changes pop up in a heartbeat. You went to sleep with one body, woke up with another (what, more gray hair?! What’s that line across my forehead? Why is that pimple there? I didn’t even know I could get a pimple *there*… you get the picture). A love that you thought would last forever falls apart. School comes to an end and the job you expected to get is still not forthcoming. You move somewhere and it’s not at all what you expected. You expect to find lasting fulfillment in that new gadget and then the new love wears off and becomes emptiness and boredom. Again.

I recognize that I always have a choice. Even when the outer situation can’t change. I can choose to feel frustrated or I can choose to get the lesson and expect miracles. I expect miracles. I expect to reveal my vulnerability and for it to be taken as the strength that it is. I expect life’s situations to line up… for the space that was always there to be open to me when I choose to take it.

Note: this writing was inspired while watching the movie, “Where the Wild Things Are.”  And by my PMS.  In the movie, Max (and the Wild Things by extension) struggle to accept change.  

http://blackartinamerica.com/

For ATL visit: High Museum of Art Atlanta
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Hk7jC_37Kc&feature=player_embedded

http://blackartinamerica.com/photo/you-may-know-each-other

Seeds
growing weeds of thought
making my own container
to cultivate the flowering ideas and
offering
essence.

Your greatness is measured by your gifts, not by what you have.

Trying to let go of an old vision of myself.  Ever hold onto to some image of yourself because it's familiar, though it's uncomfortable as hell?  Yeah, like that.  The work continues...

Ground Series: Central Park/May 19, 2012 (Lian)

Sky Series: Central Park/May 19, 2012 (Ahbhaya)

From thesmartset.com, "What Makes You Happy?":


http://www.thesmartset.com/article/article03011201.aspx

Oscars 2012 review... yep.

http://intentblog.com/who-watched-the-oscars/

I rediscovered Osho Zen (www.osho.com) and the Osho Zen Tarot online and have been loving what I'm reading lately.  This is one of the cards that came up for me today and it expresses so aptly what I feel is the driving force behind dance and creativity for me:

3. Creativity

Creativity Creativity is the quality that you bring to the activity that you are doing. It is an attitude, an inner approach - how you look at things.... Not everybody can be a painter - and there is no need also. If everybody is a painter the world will be very ugly; it will be difficult to live! And not everybody can be a dancer, and there is no need. But everybody can be creative. Whatsoever you do, if you do it joyfully, if you do it lovingly, if your act of doing is not purely economical, then it is creative. If you have something growing out of it within you, if it gives you growth, it is spiritual, it is creative, it is divine. You become more divine as you become more creative. All the religions of the world have said God is the creator. I don't know whether he is the creator or not, but one thing I know: the more creative you become, the more godly you become. When your creativity comes to a climax, when your whole life becomes creative, you live in God. So he must be the creator because people who have been creative have been closest to him. Love what you do. Be meditative while you are doing it - whatsoever it is! Osho A Sudden Clash of Thunder Chapter 4 Commentary: From the alchemy of fire and water below to the divine light entering from above, the figure in this card is literally 'possessed by' the creative force. Really, the experience of creativity is an entry into the mysterious. Technique, expertise and knowledge are just tools; the key is to abandon oneself to the energy that fuels the birth of all things. This energy has no form or structure, yet all the forms and structures come out of it. It makes no difference what particular form your creativity takes - it can be painting or singing, planting a garden or making a meal. The important thing is to be open to what wants to be expressed through you. Remember that we don't possess our creations; they do not belong to us. True creativity arises from a union with the divine, with the mystical and the unknowable. Then it is both a joy for the creator and a blessing to others.