Rowling's Speech

J.K. Rowling talks about her experience of working at Amnesty International's African Research Department. Watch from 12:00 minutes onwards.

J.K. Rowling Speaks at Harvard Commencement from Harvard Magazine on Vimeo.

Bill Bryson's Africa Diary

During Bill Bryson's visit to Kenya in 2002, he recorded his observations and published them in his African Diary. The book highlights the work of CARE International, an organization that helps the people of Africa help themselves through projects providing simple, sustainable solutions. Bryson donated all royalties from the book to CARE. The book is short, interesting and sprinkled with a good dose of Bryson's humor... he says that he expected Kenya to be like a setting from the film 'Out-Of-Africa'...!

A Guide to the Birds of East Africa

I just read 'A Guide to the Birds of East Africa' by Nicholas Drayson. If you're looking for a nice, light read based in Kenya which brings forth many aspects of the nation from the Government, the life of immigrants, society and crime to the scenery, people and of course, the beautiful birds, this is the book for you. Here is a review. If you like McCall Smith, you will enjoy this book; I sure did. One last thing... I loved all the little bird sketches at the beginning of every chapter. They prompted me to look up some of the birds and I've never seen anything like the Great Blue Turaco, Turner's Eremomela or the gorgeous Hoopoe seen below. Picture from Wikipedia.

Wavin' Flag

Born in Mogadishu, Somalia, K'naan spent his childhood in Mogadishu and lived there during the Somali Civil War, which began in 1991. His aunt, Magool, was one of Somalia's most famous singers. K'naan's grandfather, Haji Mohamed, was a poet. K'naan, means "traveller" in the Somali language. More at Wiki.

K'naan's Wavin' Flag is the official theme song of the World Cup. Here's a live, acoustic version:

Africa on Camera

Check out Scott Stulberg's amazing pictures of Africa here.

Nelson Mandela's Biography

Solve small shared these wonderful 5 minute clips that capture the highlights of Nelson Mandela's extraordinary life.

Direct Links: Part 1 and Part 2

Tama's Snimbe

I must thank Putumayo for all the African music it helps me discover. My latest disvovery is Tama's Snimbe, a colloborative effort with one of my favourite artists, Susheela Raman.

Tama's Biography from Yahoo Music: Named after a Bambara word meaning "to walk," Tama consists of Malian vocalist Tom Diakite, percussionist Djanuno Dabo of Guinea Bissau and London-based producer/multi-instrumentalist Sam Mills. The trio met when they were playing with the hypnotic Bengali performer Paban Das Baul, with whom Mills had collaborated previously on albums like Real Sugar. Having some extra time at the recording studio led to the group creating impromptu songs that incorporated Diakite's West African musical heritage and Mills' roots in pop, avant-garde and world music, which stretch back to his days in 23 Skidoo in the late '70s and early '80s. The group's debut album Nostalgie was released in 1999 on the RealWorld label. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide.

Snimbe feature's in Tama's album Espace.

Invictus

I just watched and liked, Invictus. The film is based on events that took place in 1995 in South Africa. Madiba* (Nelson Mandela) was released from prison in 1990 after 27 long years. He was then elected President of South Africa (see ANC) in 1994 in the historic, first multi-racial elections. When he took over, in his efforts to bring a broken nation together, he surpised everyone by supporting the Springboks, the National Rugby Team (which was made up mostly of Afrikaners). The Springboks (definitely the underdogs) went on the win the 1995 Rugby World Cup in what is considered one of the most momentous World Cup victories. Matt Damon plays the Springbok Captain Francois Pienaar. Read more about Invictus on Wiki.

* In South Africa Nelson Mandela is often known as Madiba, an honorary title adopted by elders of Mandela's clan. The title has come to be synonymous with Nelson Mandela.

Subsaharska

Here's an interesting Africa-based blog, Subsaharska. Follow Subsaharska's tweets. Read about the afrophile(?) author here.

New Boy

Here is a fantastic short film written by Roddy Doyle. The film is about a Rwandan refugee's first day at his new Irish school. This was my favourite Oscar short last year.

Filmography of the Rwandan Genocide.

A parable for Kenya

Joseph Lekuton narrates two wondrous stories - a beautiful parable from Kenya and the remarkable story of his education. A teacher and writer, Lekuton went back to Kenya and is a Member of Parliament there now. Read his bio here.

Sedjedo

• Angélique Kidjo (born on July 14, 1960) is a Grammy Award-winning Beninoise singer-songwriter, noted for her diverse musical influences and creative music videos. More on wiki.
• Kidjo's official website.
• Kidjo's Youtube channel.
• Live version of Sedjedo here.
• Check out her amazing videos on Myspace.

The Danger of a Single Story

I just watched this interesting talk, 'The Danger of theSingle Story', by Chimamanda Adichie.



The first part of the talk reminded so much of my own childhood when I set out to write a book about the "Secret Nine", modeled of course on Enid Blyton's "Secret Seven" stories. There are so many other parallels I drew between her early life in Nigeria and mine in India. I found her concept of the misleading single story eye-opening and profound.

African Desert Rift Confirmed As New Ocean In The Making

I was sent (Thanks, R), this interesting article about a 35-mile-long rift that broke open the desert ground in Ethiopia.

Picture from rochester.edu article on the same topic.

"In 2005, a gigantic, 35-mile-long rift broke open the desert ground in Ethiopia. At the time, some geologists believed the rift was the beginning of a new ocean as two parts of the African continent pulled apart, but the claim was controversial.

Now, scientists from several countries have confirmed that the volcanic processes at work beneath the Ethiopian rift are nearly identical to those at the bottom of the world's oceans, and the rift is indeed likely the beginning of a new sea."

The Okavango Macbeth

And he's back! This time Alexander McCall Smith brings us an opera, 'The Okavango Macbeth' based in Botswana.

"McCall Smith is visiting from Scotland to witness the finished version of the opera, which will run for 10 performances until 17 October and may later tour schools in Botswana. Its production – and the location – has been a labour of love for a writer who has fallen in love with the country that has provided a setting for his literary success."

Read more here.