Saturday, August 14, 2010

The Bank, Competitions & Awards + My Life = This Post


What have I been up to? Well, a lot apparently.

On Thursday 12th I was invited on behalf of Speakers Without Borders to attend a stakeholder workshop hosted by the Bank of Uganda on rolling out a National Financial Literacy and Consumer Protection Education Policy to provide insights gained from working among young people on how to approach “these things”. Basically, the “banks are fucking the consumers” and we need to tell people to avoid getting well, screwed. The discussion ranged from simple things like the cooling off period between loan applications and funds disbursement to the glaring gap in the report on how to actively engage and sustain the financial literacy discussion among the young adults in Uganda despite the sheer weight they exert on the demographic tables.  Also there are over 150,000 Ugandans on Face book. Most of those are not my parents’ age. So, why not?  Use everything available as long as they are getting the message. I gave my two cents there.

On Friday the 13th, I was invited by Mambo Guy, an old buddy who I’ve known for forever, President of the The Lantern Meet, connoisseur of fine things, and architect - to attend the Final presentation of Kitenge Spaces. This cat is really smooth. About a year ago he won a grant from The Youth Action Fund under the auspices of the Open Society Institute (EA) to run a competition for architecture students to design Afro-centric spaces. His belief that architecture is culture and therefore a reflection of our common identity is a debate that’s raged on over the years between him and I. Basically because I think that the spiel that spaces define people is academic hogwash but rather that people define the spaces they live in. Anyway over the course of a year he has had the contestants design and submit objects and space designs to a panel of young and rather erudite architects. This competition is Kitenge Spaces.

Mambo Guy
Yesterday, as I sat at the National Theatre and listened to a young man talk about the communality of the African meal and why, that, of all spaces, should be the most well lit space in the house, I knew that Guy had done it. He’d come from where 3 of us sat 5 years ago and talked about being “that man” and taken the road. “That man” is the guy who does not take what he is given, but rather will consistently, infect, affect and effect everything around him with change; constantly saying “NO! This isn’t enough” and asking for more soup, re-defining his own boundaries, pushing the horizon a little further and, without knowing it, making the lives of many, many people mean so much more. Now the world has to watch out. He is coming.

Later in the evening I attended the Public Relations Association of Uganda (PRAU) Excellence Awards Dinner where they were awarding the best PR campaigns, practitioners, companies, agencies and organizations. In what was an almost serendipitous occasion, URA swept three awards all in the corporate communications category, The “ONE LOVE” Campaign by ZK Advertising for UHMG (the “sexual network” campaign for those of you who don’t know it yet) was voted the Overall Best Campaign of 2009/2010. I for one was happy because having personally worked on the submissions for  and designed the communication materials for two of the winning entries –Best Event PR, The Johnnie Walker Launch in Uganda (covered aptly in this post here but also very well taken care of by Google. Hehe!), and the Best Crisis Management Award for President Lager - a Uganda breweries product that was interdicted right before Christmas last year by Nile Breweries from bottling the product in a long neck bottle.


It’s been very busy but also sexy and exciting; literally sexciting. I drunk texted my ex. She is going to have my head. But who cares. And I lost the keys to my place on Thursday night and so spent the night on the floor outside my place waiting for morning so I could find a locksmith. I’ve been spending a lot of time lately cooking, reading and writing – generally just being alone. It hurts. It hurts so bad. In other news I’ll probably be going away for a while, but that’s news for another day.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Ugandan film industry growing up into hilarious trailers!


After reading Matooke Nation's post on Who killed Captain Alex?” purportedly Uganda’s best action movie, I got to thinking; is the Ugandan movie industry really evolving to Nollywood standards? The fact is the concept is great, the execution not so much.
What we really need to be thinking about right now is whether we can be part of the revolution supporting this new creative spurt happening in our little city. As I shared with some of the people in my office we landed on something even more hilarious. This is a movie called Tebatusaasula”. The trailers are very hilarious and I’m very curious to know who is generating this home-grown “ghetto” talent. But there is no denying, the landscape is not going to be the same by the time this year ends.
 I keep thinking Golola Moses should have been casted as the special mercenary.


.....and some white people are just off the hook. For your pleasure


I think some things in life are just too white.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Lyrics: "Dream" By the Everly Brothers....and ugandan music

This is the song in my head at the moment. It reminds me of my  radio DJ days when I was mixing it up on a country show. Been going through some really tough stuff lately. I'm working on the post. Coming soon...

Drea-ea-ea-ea-eam, dream, dream, dream
Drea-ea-ea-ea-eam, dream, dream, dream
When I want you in my arms
When I want you and all your charms
Whenever I want you, all I have to do is
Drea-ea-ea-ea-eam, dream, dream, dream

When I feel blue in the night
And I need you to hold me tight
Whenever I want you, all I have to do is
Drea-ea-ea-ea-eam

I can make you mine, taste your lips of wine
Anytime night or day
Only trouble is, gee whiz
I'm dreamin' my life away

I need you so that I could die
I love you so and that is why
Whenever I want you, all I have to do is
Drea-ea-ea-ea-eam, dream, dream, dream
Drea-ea-ea-ea-eam

I can make you mine, taste your lips of wine
Anytime night or day
Only trouble is, gee whiz
I'm dreamin' my life away

I need you so that I could die
I love you so and that is why
Whenever I want you, all I have to do is
Drea-ea-ea-ea-eam, dream, dream, dream
Drea-ea-ea-ea-eam, dream, dream, dream

FADE
Drea-ea-ea-ea-eam, dream, dream, dream 

 
...But my computer is playing a really great Ugandan song by Grace Nakimera called "Onyambanga Mukama". A prayer by all standards; something I need right now. Listen to it here

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Sons and Fathers II: 50 Things Every Father Should Teach His Son.....Part 2

In this second installment of this series I have been doing some thinking about all the elements that go into making a wonderful , well rounded man. Presenting part 2 of the 50 Things every Father should teach his son:
Father and Son
1.       How to taste a good cup of coffee
2.       The importance of being groomed
3.       The value of being quicker to listen than to speak.
4.       Why men should never speak in anger
5.       The power of being comfortable in one’s own company
6.       White people are not superior to you. That are just people.
7.       Why Chinese products are inferior to anything else
8.       The Ten point response to when your wife is angry about hanging out with the boys.
9.       How to say “It wasn’t me” and mean it.
10.   When to never say to a toddler “ you. Who’s your father?”
11.   Why buyng airtime and jewelery is not a good indicator of how successful one is with the ladies.
12.   How to put razor sharp scuts on your garments.
13.   How far public opinion should dissuade a man from what he wants
14.   If the man is R. Kelly and what he wants involves a 14 year old girl…
15.   The value of saying what you mean and meaning what you say.
16.   Why “Sarah Short” is not exactly short
17.   Where do babies come from…
18.   There isn’t a pot of gold at the end of every rainbow
19.   The greatest story ever told is yet to be written…
20.   The people you love also have people they love!
21.   The word pussy didn’t always mean cat but the word booze has been slang for alcohol since the 1100’s
22.   You have to be willing to try everything at least once in your lifetime.
23.   Alex Ndawula doesn’t ever wear a suit to work. No radio presenter ever does.
24.    The reason why the deodorant industry is a billion dollar industry is because it is actually has a purpose.
25.   In the casino, the house always wins.
Bonus advice:
26.   How to find a good car!