The Vim Views & Versions - Blogs of a MIghTy African

It's yet another Monday. You might be thinking this .... ----> "Oh NOOOO, It's Monday Again! But you can have a different outlook. Listen to music you love. Make it a #MusicMonday. I love to listen to this YouTube playlist. Enjoy! Morevim!

Can't wait till Christmas. Can wait to see the year move a little slower so I achieve a lot more in 2013 though. But when the holiday season does come, here are a number of ways you can send and say holiday greetings :-) Bronya o! Afe hyia pa o! #MerryChristmas in #Akan #Twi . — Mighty African (@mightyafrican) December 25, 2012 Ni ti yum palli! #MerryChristmas in #Dagbani . #Ghana — Mighty African (@mightyafrican) December 25, 2012 Blonya fe dzorgbenyuie na mi! Blonya fedzorgbenui! #MerryChristmas in #Ewe . #Ghana — Mighty African (@mightyafrican) December 25, 2012 Afi o afi! Afi aya ni e ba nina wɔ! #MerryChristmas in #Ga . #Ghana — Mighty African (@mightyafrican) December 25, 2012 "Heri ya Krismasi" "Krismasi Njema!" #MerryChristmas in #Swahili . #Kenya #Tanzania #Uganda — Mighty African (@mightyafrican) December 25, 2012 "Khisimusi Lomuhle". #MerryChristmas in #Zulu and #Siswati . #Mzansi #SouthAfrica #Swa...

This wasn't quite a Togolese weekend, but then again Togo's independence day was April 27. While browsing my Gabonese friend's Facebook page, I discovered that one of Africa's top music groups, Toofan, were going to be performing in Accra at a concert . Cool Catch eh? We were going to have a dose of Togolese music in Accra. Blog post material be that. But first, I said Togolese duo Toofan is performing in #Accra tomorrow. C'est bon! Obragada! On va vous deloger! youtube.com/watch?v=oz9vzW… Way to go! #togo — Ato Ulzen-Appiah (@Abocco) April 25, 2013 Watching Toofan music videos has made me realise I might have forgotten how to "dance". I can only do some two-steps & #azonto these days. — Ato Ulzen-Appiah (@Abocco) April 25, 2013 After getting to the concert, it struck me. I was going to hear a lot of French (that I didn't understand). Was a good opportunity to learn a few more French phrases et al. There were so many Francophone Afri...

3 reasons why you should come to Barcamp Kasoa - It will assemble many aspirational, inspirational and conversational people - It will be an eye-opener into what Kasoa really is about - It will be a fun, informal networking event Register here . Or read the press release and do so after :-) Barcamp Kasoa aims to assemble Kasoa stakeholders to network, build a supportive entreprising community and give birth to lasting professional partnerships. We would discuss the present state of Kasoa, its emerging growth and how it will be affected by many projects happening around it - Hope BarCamp Kasoa 2013 is a free networking event to bring people together for a day of discussion, demos and dialogue about Kasoa, Ghana and beyond. The event will happen at the ICGC Transformation Temple in Kasoa on April 27, 2013 . The theme is ' Making an entreprising environment for an emerging market '. Barcamp Kasoa is organized primarily by the GhanaThink Foundation, an NGO based both ...

The first time I was in Kasoa , I had actually gone to Buduburam to visit some family members. From what I know about Kasoa today, it might be the real melting pot in Ghana. It is home to many cultures, people from many countries, many businesses and many hopes and aspirations. My buddy Elorm claims that " almost every tribe in Ghana can be found in Kasoa ". Given the tertiary institutions and the presence of Buduburam, it might be home to many more West African tribes too. If some pronouncements are to be believed, Kasoa is seeing more than 40 families move in every week. It is one of the fastest growing towns (if not cities) in West Africa. Given some of the news around it, it is also going to become very relevant in the sub-region very soon. By the end of 2011, the Barcamp Ghana movement had seen events in Accra, Kumasi, Tamale, Takoradi, Cape Coast, and Ho. While at Blogcamp Ghana (a Barcamp type event with a focus on blogging and social media), two separate peop...

Every time I tell people " We've done 19 Barcamps " since December 2008, they are surprised and impressed. Interestingly, I am not. Dorothy Gordon, the Director-General of the KACE-AITI , generously gave the venue for free when she understood what we wanted to do with the Barcamps. After the first Barcamp in Ghana happened, she charged us to have the events in every single region. 2009 saw 1 event , 2010 saw 4, 2011 saw 5, and 2012 saw 8. 2013 will hopefully see 10 Barcamps in Ghana, but not in every single region. It might very well happen. What is a Barcamp ? A Barcamp is a ad-hoc informal gathering of people. It is not peculiar to just 'us', it happens around the world. Google "Barcamp" and you would see. Check out barcamp.org and learn more. Like one of the Barcamp Ghana teammates said, " We have taken Barcamps personal ". Barcamps in Ghana are an evolution of what regular Barcamps are and a revolution around which certain goals are b...

Wow, so now I have a new wallet ! Did I have money to put into the wallet? Yes. What to use the money for? " Let's go buy some bissap or sobolo to make this day fully Burkinabe! ". Tatiana didn't have any in store, so I had to go on a hunt in Osu. I was also getting hungry. La Creperie Terrasse would have been closed by the time I passed by on my way home so that wasn't an option. I thought of a French restaurant near Honeysuckle and headed there. You know how much I love bissap already . The thrill of searching and finding bissap in Osu after 23:33pm was enthralling. On another #sobolo hunt. Aka a #bissap hunt. This time in #Osu . Who knows where I can get some? Francophone restaurant in #Accra ? — Mighty African (@mightyafrican) April 18, 2013 While navigating Danquah Circle, it struck me. Bissap is cool, but Burkina is cooler . There is a drink sold in Ghana that is called Burkina . It would be 226 times more appropriate to have that than Bissa...

La premiere ici. I set out to go home, started singing the song that had been repeating in the car - Lira's Ngiyazifela. "I can't help loving you". Can you tell I am in love? Instead of going home, I thought to myself. " Let's make this a Burkinabe day! " I would call up Stephanie , the lady who organized the Francophone Film Festival in Accra and collect that Burkinabe movie. I would also go to see Tatiana , my OUWA friend, and collect the souvenir she got me from Burkina. Stephanie wasn't picking my calls and Tatiana wasn't replying my whatsapp messages. When I called Tatiana, the phone didn't even ring and I had a voice playback in French . Turns out I was calling a +226 Burkinabe number. I stopped at the 37 Shell (didn't buy fuel) and bought Airtel credit. Except I didn't leave the car cos I was afraid the car wouldn't spark after a park and one of the workers went to buy me the credit. I scratched the card, went thro...

When I was heading home today, I needed to send some whatsapp messages so I needed to park the car and do so. The only choice on this route was going to be the Burkinabe embassy. The first time I had I stopped there, it was February 6th . I was so saddened by the Black Stars' loss to the Stallions of Burkina Faso that I just had to stop by the embassy and ' pay my respects '. I had told the security guy " look at how your country has made all of Accra sad ". I was rooting for the Burkinabe team in addition to our darling Black Stars but if I knew they were going to end Ghana's interest in the Orange African Cup of Nations , I would have refrained from that. Ghanaians were taunting Burkinabes saying " we are going to drink burkina " but after that penalty-shoot out loss, Ghanaians were caught saying " we are going to stop providing electricity for Burkina Faso ". Given the current load shedding exercises in Ghana, I am surprised we haven...

After watching yet another fine game of football, my buddy Francis and I got into a conversation around what was more important - defenders or attackers? Since, this is sports-related, this debate is a little more relevant to guys. The debate topic ( also asked on Twitter ) was/is "What is more important to the success of a team in a sporting or physical activity? A good defence or a good attack?" Francis and I agreed that 'defence' is more important and critical. Here are some points that illustrate our point; series of tweets coming up :-) Attackers might score the goals but defenders & defense wins championships #discos — Mighty African (@mightyafrican) April 14, 2013 You might see the attackers and be pleased with the work but when the defense is working, u wont be seeing the attackers then. #discos — Mighty African (@mightyafrican) April 14, 2013 You can lose the game even if your attack is working well n you have a terrible defend. Easier to at...

I have decided to party less in 2013. So after partying on Friday night , I was sure to spend Saturday night at home. Especially, if I would have light at home. But after being visited by Nii, Obinna, Stephen and Ali , I entertained second thoughts. While writing one blog post , I received a call around 9:30pm from a friend, Brian , inviting me to a house party. After missing the few hours of last night’s house party, I was keen on this one. A couple of friends were not responsive and some others wanted to stay in, but I decided to honour Brian’s invitation. Because the last time I attended one of his parties, I ended up drinking Vimto and meeting Francophone women who would make you say “ Oh la la ”. When I arrived at the AU Village, the ‘gateman’ directed me to Brian’s. " You will see a place with many cars packed ". Fair enough. I had seen a Asian-looking lady walking down the road and asked her “ Are you going to Brian’s place? ” “ Sorry, I don’t know Brian ”. Like to...