Living Proof

Living Proof

Charles Fort spent much of his life researching the idea that everything is connected and that coincidences happen for a reason. Well, Kelis was once in a trio with the acronym BLU (Black Ladies United).

Calder, Petra, coincidence? What would Charles Fort think?

Divatude

Divatude

Hopefully you are aware that Africa's top trio of women performers, the amazing BLU 3, launched their new album, Be Free, last Friday night at KCC Ground, Kampala. Hopefully you were there. If not, you really missed out. My beautiful friends did not let down the audience with their bar-raising show. BLU 3 were not nominated for the MTV Africa Music Award for Best Live Performance for nothing. These women are FABULOUS and know how to command a stage and work an audience. Not to mention, the the voices of Lilian and Jackie are as lovely as the women who possess them. The show on the whole was great. I've been to a live show or two in my time, and I don't remember ever having as much fun as I did at BLU 3's show last Friday. Besides the girls, the other acts, especially Nameless, Navio and GNL , were full of energy and gave fantastic performances. These three guys earned at least one new fan in me.

Now, if I were Gossip Girl, you'd all have received a message like this the night of the show:

Spotted, Juliana K snatching chairs at a VIP table where the occupants didn't even recognise her. Refusing to accept that this was not her night, she exercised her divatude, refusing to give up her and her escorts' seats to the rightful patrons. While her flame might not be burning so bright these days, it's not completely extinguished. Homegirl remained cool as a cucumber, pretending anyone telling her what she didn't want to hear didn't exist and got management to set her up a personal table up front. Love her or hate her, that's a real diva.

xoxo

A few last words about the show: DJ Benny D sucked and was a waste of time. Not. Entertaining.

When You Least Expect It...

When You Least Expect It...

Seeing this flier at the cash register at the coffee shop this morning (maybe I'm too polite, but I just think there are more appropriate places to advertise the removal of impacted faeces than a place where people are having breakfast) triggered memories of that episode of Will & Grace when Jack has to give the speech at his nursing school graduation after being voted most popular student nurse. Karen wants to take him out for manis and pedis, gentlemen's facials, and when you least expect it... a colonic. They, too, had that discussion over breakfast.

If you're not quite sure what a colonic is, you can follow this link. The flier includes a list of maladies that a colonic can be used as a treatment against. I love how they chose to list first: bad breath. I know that many parts of the body are neurologically connected in ways that I cannot even begin to understand, so it does not surprise me that removing wastes from the bowel can also be claimed to be a way to prevent memory loss. But really?

Some other health benefits according to the flier:

• Enjoyment of the highest levels of energy day after day.
• Supple, younger-looking skin.
• You will never get bored with exercise.
• And you will learn to enjoy healthy foods.

Amazing. All that from having your colon cleansed with warm water?

Well, Godz Health is the place in Bukasa that brings elegance, simplicity and dignity to internal hygiene. They clean by appointment only, so book today at godzhealth@gmail.com. Phone: 0776119787, 0701119787, 0756119878. Let me know what you think after.

It compares to having a spectacular bowel movement accompanied by a feeling of deep satisfaction...........!

Run for [it]!

Run for [it]!

And we all know what [it] is, right? If you're not sure, well neither am I. But that is the theme for this year's MTN Kampala Marathon that will take place on the 22nd November. I'm registered for the full 42 km marathon. (What was I thinking?)

Training has not been so bad this time around; in fact, I'm quite enjoying it. I was pretty sick of running at this stage of training two years ago, before my first marathon. I guess I know what to expect, physically and mentally, and that makes training easier because I've done it all before. Ironically, it was remembering the time, exhaustion and discomfort of training 2007 that made it difficult for me to commit to this year's marathon.

Oh, and speaking of the marathon and all the training (about 20 weeks I'd say) that is required for the average human being that does not possess any super-human genes, MTN, the organiser, finally got around to promoting the event and announcing the new route. And in the announcement, Mr. Isaac Nsereko, chief marketing officer for MTN said:

“Our vision is to make it the best and most organised event in Africa and that is why we are coming up with so many changes."

Too late. Take a tip from your fellow marathon organisers (like the Two Oceans Marathon in South Africa) and get the date of the event out there well in advance. 22nd November has been sprinkled in a few newspaper articles and other reports since mid-August, but nothing ever seemed like an official announcement to the general public. Plus, the marathon's website has not been updated to include information on this year's event. In 2007, the date of the MTN Kampala Marathon was available several months in advance. I remember it being announce some time in July.

Registration has only been open for about one week, and MTN is already reporting over 6000 entrants. That's pretty amazing, I'd say.

See you in the corral.

The Half-Marathon Wedding

The Half-Marathon Wedding

So Soo and I have decided on a half-marathon wedding. After finishing up 12 miles today, we moseyed on over to the wedding expo going on at the at the UMA show grounds to check out the offerings and the abundant possibilities in Uganda.

If we're going to run 21km during our nuptials, she's going to really need a hair style that will hold up in the heat and weather... especially if it's a rainy day. We cannot come to a consensus about the track suits. I proposed white--it's a wedding-- but Soo pointed it out that it's pretty dusty here, and they'd be dingy before we got to the check points where we'd exchange rings and completely orange long before "I do".

We're definitely not going with a cake from Hot Loaf Bakery. Their free samples at the expo spoke for themselves.

The expo was great for ideas, including chocolate fountains. Katurah Kamugasa did well. I was pretty skeptical, but I was proven wrong.

As far as entertainment goes, I'm going to leave you with this:

Fly by Blu3. I love, love, love this song by these amazingly beautiful and fun women. It's my current dance anthem, and I think it should be yours too. I've got a more elaborate post about Blu3 in the works. In the mean time, do my girls a favor and vote for them to win at the MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMAs)!!!

Doctor, Doctor!

Doctor, Doctor!

(One mo' 'gain... I tried to make this post earlier this week but was defeated by the blogger gremlins.)

Back to doctors... Yes, Doctor is a title that does carry with it a high degree of respect and prestige. Usually it means that you've done a hell of a lot of studying, taken insanely difficult exams, researched, researched, researched, and paid some university a ton of money (or have a heavy load of loans hanging over your head). For others (like the one on the billboard in the photo above), it simply means waking up one morning and thinking: Gee, I think I'll be a Dr. today.

It seems like being a Dr. is all the rage these days. At the same time that billboard was prominently displayed around the city, there were some bright orange signs posted on lamp posts advertising some event that was being sponsored by Dr. Sudhir Ruparellia. Dr. Sudhir? (Confusion on my part.) I missed something somewhere, so I asked a friend (who keeps himself more abreast with developments in Ugandan pop culture than I do) for some clarification, and he informed me that, yes, Sudhir had been awarded an honorary doctorate from some university out West. That some university out West happens to be the Uganda Pentecostal University in Fort Portal, one that has a history going all the way back to 2003.

The confusion I experienced is not an uncommon phenomenon that occurs where someone who has been awarded an honorary degree and decides to use the title Dr. I'm not going to break into a discussion of ethics on that issue (it is generally accepted as okay in several places), but I do agree that it causes an amount of confusion as to a person's actual qualifications.

And being awarded an honorary doctorate (which is usually done to recognise someone's significant contributions to a specific area of study or society at large—Sudhir received his degree because of his outstanding business services in Uganda, his investment in education and the promotion of multiculturalism) places Dr. Sudhir in an exclusive group of world citizens that include...

Kermit the Frog,

who was awarded his Doctorate in Amphibious Letters from the Southampton College in 1996. Among Kermit's contributions to society is teaching us all that it's not easy being green.

Ms. Dolly Parton was awarded an honorary Doctorate in Humane and Musical Letters by the University of Tennessee Knoxville in May 2009 . Dolly's contributions to society include starting the Dollywood Foundation that has distributed over 20 million books in the US, Canada and UK, awarding financial assistance to students from her local community for over 30 years, and raising over $1,000,000 to build healthcare facilities in her home county. For her philanthropy, Dolly has been recognised with the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service from the Smithsonian Institution. Oh, and then there's the entertainment. The woman has has composed over 3000 songs, stared in classic films like 9 to 5 and Steel Magnolia. She's already been awarded the Kennedy Center Honors, the National Medal of Arts, the Living Legend award from the Library of Congress, membership in the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Grand Ole Opry, seven Grammy Awards, 10 Country Music Association Awards and been nominated for two Oscars.

That's Dr. Dolly, y'all!

Small Towns Get the Best Names

Small Towns Get the Best Names

I'm from the rural South (of the US). I'm from a small unincorporated community call White City. Interpret that how you will. I've heard it all before... And you might be right.

Geography lesson: also in the rural South, we find a place called...

Intercourse, Alabama!

Yes, tucked away in Sumter County in western Alabama is a small unincorporated community whose citizens, I'm sure, have caught more flack than I ever have because of the name of their home area... Small town proud!

Also from the great state of Alabama...

Amber Louise.