10 things you didn't know about me

1- I have an uncontrollable urge to start dancing when I’m alone in an elevator
2- I have a terrible stammer
3- I hate sunlight in my room (I don’t mind the sun when I’m outside)
4- I used to be scared of the full moon (when I was younger obviously)
5- I have recently developed a fear of flying
6- My camera is called ‘Sophie’
7- I have a very eclectic taste in music, in my music collection, you can find Jay-Z, Natasha Bedingfield, The Carpenters, Dashboard Confessional, UB40, Simon and Garfunkel, Beyonce & Belle and Sebastian
8- My favourite movie is Dreamgirls…as much as I want to say it’s American Gangster…It is still Dreamgirls…timeless!
9- Whenever I’m travelling I always have these two things: “The Guardian” newspaper and a bottle of bitter lemon
10- I experience Déjà vu at least once a week

What 10 things do people not know about you?

One picture I'm very proud of

(Click image for a larger rendition)

A tree in Houghton Le Spring.

PR in London

Just finished my placement in London...picked up a few things on the way

PR is unpredictable..very unpredictable

The Guardian journalists are on permanent coffee breaks

The Times journalists don't exist

A certain Mail on Sunday journalist gets on my nerves

PR frims can push-out about 200+ e-mails everyday

The phone is always ringing

Whenever you wanna go on your lunch break, the elevator is always going up

You never really finish for the day

Homeward Bound

I'm still in London, I should be at home in Arnhem but I missed my flight. No...not my fault, it was heavy traffic in North London. The coach crawled through for about three hours...my flight was at 19:35, and I got to Stansted at 19:10, so naturally I missed it...I went to the check-in place to be sure tho! and the easyjet woman (who seemed really bored) told me it was TOO LATE!
Rescheduled the flight for 7:00...arriving Holland just after 9am. And it's Home Sweet Home.

...Olympic torch analysis coming soon

LeBron James: America in a Post-Racial Society

A World War I US Army propaganda poster and the infamous Vogue Cover

US Basketball star LeBron James is in the middle of a big media storm about his depiction on elite fashion magazine Vogue. This is only the thrid time that a man has appeared on its cover, and the fourth time a black person has appeared on the cover of Vogue which was first published in 1892.
James appears on the cover with Brazilian model Gisele Bündchen, a caucasian. He is clutching her with one arm, while his other bounces a basketball. On his face he has his characteristic grimace after scoring in a game.
The fury by many African-Americans over the picture stems from the depiction of LeBron. Most say the picture is animalistic, by him clutching a white woman he is perpetuating stereotypes of black men lusting after white women. Personally, when I saw the picture I was not impressed. I have an avid interest in both World Wars, and much earlier I had been exposed to the US. Army's propaganda poster, which depicted Germany as a great ape, clutching a female (representing USA, as seen by the clothing resemblance to the Lady Liberty) I noticed that the Vogue cover bore a startling similarity to that poster, and I prepared myself for the furore that was almost certain to emerge.
Now the question people ask is 'Was that similarity to King Kong or an ape done on purpose?' or was it innocent, did they just photograph LeBron in his element and Gisele in hers. Some people will say just that. They say if you look at the picture and see 'Ape and white woman' then you are subconciously racist, as far as they are concerned, the picture is innocent.
Is this true though? Has America genuingly moved on from the stark racism of 40 years ago. Has what happened on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in 1965 faded completely into the past, Has the legacy of Rosa Parks completely vanished? Is America in a Post-racial society? Is race no longer an issue?
The finalizing of the Vogue cover is not a small issue, it is certainly not an issue that is dealt with by one person, several photographers and editors critique and enhance the photograph before it appears in the newstands. Didn't anyone at Vogue predict this backlash by African-Americans claiming Vogue is racist for depicting 'their own' in such an unflattering manner, or, did Vogue think that America has moved to a stage where a black man showing 'ape-like behaviour' should not raise any eyebrows.
Of course, it can also be argued that Vogue, by doing this, is pushing America toward a post-racial society, by 'normalizing' sensitive issues is Vogue saying "Look, black or white we are all the same"
As black people, not just African-Americans, we are constantly trying to put our best face forward when it comes to our depiction in the media. We want to be seen as beautiful, intelligent and articulate, and so often one famous black persons blunder becomes an embarrasment to the whole race. Similarly, one black person's triumph is shared by the race, for example the case of O.J Simpson or even Barack Obama's presidential race.
This attitude is brought about by an inferiority complex, in Afro-Americans due to slavery, and in Africans due to colonialism. We want to show white people that we have progressed to a level of equality, we want to show that their assumptions of us as being inferior were wrong.
So when Lebron James shows up on the cover of what can be described as a 'white magazine' looking unattractive, black people everywhere feel unattractive, we are angered that the 'white magazine' has chosen to show the ugliest picture. The Vogue cover is an important milestone for blacks and whites alike, and with this rare oppurtunity to present ourselves to 'white world'; we have chosen to put a 'terrible' picture of 'our own'- this summarizes the feeling of many people who did not like the Vogue cover.
Of course there's the other side: What do white people really think? When they see a black man screaming, do they really think 'Ape!' When they see a black man holding a white woman, do they really think 'Rapist!'
The sad fact is that even in academia we are taught to expect the worst, not only in terms of race, but also in terms of gender. Nothing is ever 'what it is', there is always an ulterior motive.
Girls are taught that advertising featuring men and women are inherently sexist, and black people are taught that any depiction of a black person displaying a negative trait is an extension of the general view held by white people.
We are in a vicious cycle, on one hand we want to combat racism, but on the other we look for racism in every single thing.
As far as reaching a post-racial society is concerned, I believe we would one day reach it, when black milestones are no longer counted, when we look at Denzel Washington as merely an actor, when Obama becomes just another presidential candidate, when there would be no need for a Black Entertainment Television channel.
Martin Luther King had a dream, and I share that dream too!

Eating in Persia

Where to eat? that was the question..Cunningham, Ashmawy and I took the trip by Metro from Sunnyland to Newcastle in order to taste the flavours of Lebanon. We reached the restaurant and walked in, the smell from the kitchen was heavenly, I don't know what spice it was, but it was tantalizing, the kind of smell I want to smell forever (okay...maybe not forever, but you get the point) The problem was the the Lebanese restaurant was booked out, it was a small place, and it was packed full! We were told we had to wait 45 mins in order to get a seat...we couldn't wait that long, we were absolutely famished. Ashmawy decided to speak to the Maitre'D in Arabic..we thought we might get special treatment by culturally aligning ourselves with him: That didn't work!
We didn't have the patience to wait 45 mins, so we decided to look elsewhere, we passed by a Spanish restaurant with absolutely no one inside. Passed an Italian, but the last time we three dined together it was Italian, moreover we had an apetite for the flavours of the Middle East.
The closest thing we saw was Greek! Not the Middle East, but still found in the Bible so it counts as 'one of them' We entered without properly looking at the food prices....we were shown our seats and were about to sit down before William (who had his characteristic worried look on his face) quipped 'Guys, we gotta go', but how? It would be slightly embarrasing to just up and leave when confronted with the menu! So we came up with a story, we said we had to go fetch more friends, so we'd be back in a bit. And off we went.
There it was, a diamond in the rough! 'Ali Baba' restaurant (forgive the rather childish name) serving the finest Persian dishes (Persian is Iranian for those that don't know). We went inside, the ambience was lush, I loved it, we loved it, we sat.
The waiter had bragged about the size of the dishes, challenging us as to whether we could finish it. The starters were huge, well at least William's and mine were (we ordered Koofteh..lamb meatballs) Ashmawy had stuffed Vine Leaves..and he wasn't stuffed (bad pun, but it had to be done)
My main course was a meal called 'Ghormeh Sabzi'...absolutely amazing! leek, parsley, spinach and coriander. This mixture is cooked with kidney beans, green onions, chives, dried limes, and lamb meat. It is then served with Basmati rice. I thoroughly enjoyed it!..I'll definately be going back
The price was right as well!


Ali Baba Restaurant
7-9 Bigg Market
Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 1UN

Azin's blog :)

As promised, Azin's blog should be up and running by today...I can't wait to read it! Don't disappoint me Azin!

Happy Poetry

It has dawned on me that my recent poems have always been gloomy, talking about the dark part of humanity, and the nasty aspects of people. Not just my poems, but that of people in my circle of poets.
So I put pen to paper to write a poem that was happy, or at least about happy things, what else brings as much joy as the great Sun.
Ladies and Gentlemen I present to you my latest poem:

Sunshine and Daisies
by Julian Obubo

The bright rays of the Sun
they beam themselves through the slits of my blinds
I, blinded by the light
make my way to the window
to let in the Sun
Vishnu has awoken
Amun-Ra asserts his presence
Peace on earth
The little plants begin photosynthesis
That's what our teachers tell us
The Sun
Source of all Power
The earth is but a little sphere
hurridly making its way around her
Great Hot Mother of all
and at night, rest she does
so her children, the stars, come out and play
under the watchful eye of their sister: Selene
Morning will come
Morning always comes
and rise she must

and as for Daisies?
They are pretty