The Vim Views & Versions - Blogs of a MIghTy African

VIM! BarCamp Ghana 2010 BarCamp Ghana 2010 , an ad-hoc gathering where attendees meet for discussions, demos and networking, will take place on December 18 2010 at the Ashesi University campus in Accra. The theme is “Create dreams, work smart and shape the future”. Following the successes of BarCamp Ghana '08 and BarCamp Ghana '09 , regional BarCamp events were organized in Kumasi , Accra and Takoradi and Barcamp Ghana 2010 will crown the year as the national event. BarCamps all over the world have brought together individuals and organizations to collaborate on various projects and businesses. BarCamp Ghana’10 is a FREE event for anyone who is interested in using their skills, talent, and resources to benefit Ghana and Africa as a whole. This year, the focus is on telling stories and discussing ways of how entrepreneurs and businessmen can create wealth in a burgeoning Accra metropolis faced with a myriad of challenges. Unusually, the pivot of this year’s ev

' Sinking Sands ' follows ' I Sing Of A Well ' (ISOAW), from the stable of director, Leila Djansi from Ghana. I had been really excited about this movie with the casting of Haiti's Jimmy Jean-Louis and Ama Abrebrese. After watching Sinking Sands, I had one word. Unique. It was unlike any Ghanaian movie I had ever seen. And that's the major reason why you should see it. I already wrote a movie review but in this post , I want to talk about some of the issues the movie raises. The movie also reminds me of a great blog post my friend wrote about relationships. How much of one's dreams and wants must one sacrifice to be in a serious relationship? Do we lose ourselves by becoming 'attached'? Do we have to sacrifice our own happiness and does happiness take a new meaning? Do partners take out their frustrations (whether borne from inside the home or out of it) on each other? Obviously, they share the good times as well. Does the Ghanaian society consider

After watching 'I Sing Of A Well' (ISOAW), loving it and writing a review , I eagerly anticipated the next movie from Leila Djansi's stable. I also interviewed her about ISOAW and when Sinking Sands was being made ready for its Ghana premiere, I was offered the chance to preview Leila's 'Sinking Sands'. I had been really excited about this movie with the casting of Haiti's Jimmy Jean-Louis and Ama Abrebrese. After watching Sinking Sands, I had one word. Unique. It was unlike any Ghanaian movie I had ever seen. And that's the major reason why you should see it. The movie centers around domestic abuse but this only comes about because some changes come in the relationship between Gyimah (Jimmy's character) and Pabi (Ama's character). I think Jimmy does well in his African movie debut. Well, unless you want to count Phat Girlz (which featured Moqniue Parker) as the debut. It wasn't too difficult for him to fit in as his Haitian accent is not a

While organizing the very first Barcamp Ghana in December 2008, Dorothy Gordon, the CEO of the Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT (Accra) , encouraged to us that we should take the barcamp event to other places in Ghana. We made a promise to ourselves. Two years on, the dream is materializing. We had an actual Barcamp Accra in October and before we had Barcamp Kumasi . This month, we'd have Barcamp Takoradi on the 27th at the Takoradi Technical Institute (TTI) , . And we won't stop till we have Barcamps in Tuabodom, Tain and (Cape) Three Points. #VIM! #Tsooboi! BarCamp Takoradi 2010 , an ad-hoc gathering where attendees will meet for discussions, demos and networking, will take place on November 27, 2010 at the Takoradi Technical Institute (TTI) , campus in Takoradi, Ghana. The theme will be “Leading & Entreprising in an Oil & Technology Fuelled Economy”. BarCamp Takoradi is building on the success of Ghanaian BarCamp events to ignite Sekondi/Takoradi & Weste

I have blogged a whole lot about the folks at Fienipa but why shouldn't I? They are doing an awesome job with getting African content online and you should join me in supporting them. Their latest project is movies.fienipa.com , sort of an African IMDB. What prompted this post was an entry about the new Ghanaian movie called Elmina. Does Elmina sound familiar? It's the hometown of the MIghTy African, the guy writing this very post. It's also the first point and spot the Europeans landed at when they came to Africa. Yup, on 19th January 1482, 600 men lead by Don Diego d'Azambuja arrived in Elmina. Elmina is historical and important like that. And now Elmina is on the big screen? Thanks to Revele Films, the folks who brought you the award-winning 'Run, Baby, Run' movie. The producers of the two hit mini-series ‘Home Sweet Home’ and ‘Hotel St. James’, alongside the popular movie "Fire to Fire’ that featured local comedian Agya Koo, and ‘Agyapadie’, are back.

I already blogged about upcoming Paparazzi - Eye in the Dark movie here when the trailer came out . The movie features Ghana's Koby Maxwell who also sings the lead single in the soundtrack called "Do it". After I saw the trailer for the movie, I was very excited and proclaimed it the best movie Van Vicker has been in. Yes, @theRealVanVicker. I decided to ask Koby Maxwell and other people behind the movie a few questions about it. Below is the interview transcript. MightyAfrican: Who birthed the idea for the movie? Koby Maxwell: I came up with this story. My brother Kojo Adu Ansah and the director worked on it to put it together. MightyAfrican: Why was Van Vicker chosen for the lead role? Who else was considered? Koby Maxwell: Van Vicker is currently the hottest Actor in the business and the industry. I did carry out a survey on a cross-section of the Nollywood movie fans about who they would like to see in my production. Many responded and made mention of Van Vicker and

My alter ago, Ayooluwaato Eze is back again. This time talking about Nigeria :-) The African Remix boys from Nigeria are back again! After remixing Soulja Boy's Crank that Soulja boy, Chris Brown's Kiss Kiss, Lil Wayne's Lollipop, and Beyonce's Single Ladies, they are remixing a Nigerian hip-hop classic, Pon pon pon by the famous Yoruba rapper, Da-Grin . Da-Grin passed away on Thursday, April 22. Many tributes poured his way from various Nigerian artistes, including this one called My pain which featured multiple Nigerian all-stars. Check out the lyrics for song coming soon here . As usual, the Naija Boyz are at their funniest best. They mention that they still have the Naija swagger. They make fun of children born to Nigerian parents in the US who have 'forgotten their upbringing'. The video featured a Nigerian-American kid insulting his mum and who is going to call 911. Nigerian mothers won't take that nonsense and 'go remind you why we come here&#

Ghanaian rapper Asem is now a Journalist, and his latest single describes all the events and occurances in the Ghana Showbiz Industry during 2010. Okay, fylla, fylla o fylla!; A S E M with the fylla; This be the 2010 fylla; Ghana showbizness, 2010 I dey come summarize from beginning to the end He mentioned Obrafour (Rastaman) bouncing back on Okyeame Kwame's (Jerry Curls) back and how the song's hype didn't last long because the guy Obrafour featured, Guru, slacked. You'll remember Obrafour's Kasiebo track was a response to Okyeame Kwame and Obour's Killing the game . He also takes a shot at Kwaw Kese saying he's become his PRO, mentioning his name everywhere he goes. Kwaw Kese recently released his Killa bewu last show which dissed Asem, KOD and Jon Germain . He acknowledges that Tema is the home of great rap fever but stipulates that the money is still in Accra. He says even Tema boys stole the show at the Ghana Music Awards, it's he Asem whose

I received some invites from a couple of people to test out Google's Baraza earlier. Just recently, Google Baraza was launched in different places in Africa. Baraza, which means ‘taskforce’ or ‘council’ in Swahili, is a newly launched question and answer service that will also be integrated into search results on Google Search. From the earlier notice One of Google’s goals in Africa is to make the internet more locally relevant and bring more people online. One of the challenges of the internet in Africa is that there is a lack of local content online. At Google, we find that users search for information about local businesses, entertainment, health, etc but often don’t find it because the information is not yet available online. In order to help bring more local content online, Google engineers have created Baraza to allow people in countries across Africa to ask questions and post answers to questions from others. If you have any questions about Africa, go and ask it through Bara

Last month, I blogged about the upcoming The first African Leadership Network gathering . My thoughts dey there. This week, I received a press release from one of the organizers and wanted to share with you. It's in about two weeks. How times flies. I am personally excited about this though. Africa’s Top Emerging Leaders Gather in Ethiopia for Invitation-Only Meeting of the African Leadership Network Johannesburg, South Africa – October 15, 2010 – The African Leadership Network (ALN), today announced a first-of-its kind, invitation-only gathering of Africa’s top emerging leaders. Chosen from across Africa for their distinguished leadership in the business, government, and non-profit sectors, these young leaders will come together in the spirit of problem solving and action, focusing their combined passion and expertise on addressing the opportunities and challenges facing Africa. “We will rise beyond our challenges and capture our opportunities only if our continent’s top young lea

At different times in my life, people meet me and say I look Nigerian. They say I look Igbo, sorry my Yoruba brethren and Hausa sistren. I didn't choose that and personally I don't like Igbos more than other Naija tribes. So, I play along and claim that I am actually Nigerian. Of course, you all know I am a Ghanaian. If you didn't, now you know. Especially when I meet some new Nigerians, I 'lie' and say I am Nigerian and my name is ..... I used to say Oluwadeyoato. Apparently, it doesn't make much sense, so I consulted with some Nigerian friends to come up with a new one. This is what we settled on - Ayooluwaato Eze. Yes, my Naija alter ego has a last name too. And I am from Kwara State . :-) Before I tell you about me, let me tell you a funny story. When attending the local Nigeriaat50 party, I was with a Naija girl and we met some of her friends. I introduced myself as Oluwadeyoato to them. I said I was from Kwara state. I was wearing green. Gotto rep my cou

Earlier this month, fellow blogger and Ghanaian, Jemila of Cicrumspecte.com informed me about Blog Action Day on October 15. I looked forward to this day and earlier, realised that Edward of Tagoe Blogger had blogged about MoneyGram quenching Asuboi's thirst . Blog action Day 2010 (BAD2010) tackles 'water' with the premise "Right now, almost a billion people on the planet don’t have access to clean, safe drinking water. That’s one in eight of us." Let's spread the word about providing cleaner and safer water, especially in Africa where water-borne diseases are a menace still. I've had some battles with unsafe water. In the final year in Presec, I had some 'traces' of Typhoid fever which drove me to the hospital for a couple of check-ups. I was given some medication and told to check the water I used. There had been a typhoid outbreak in Accra and a few people had died. So I wasn't going to joke around. Accra has a lot of documented water prob

I found some exciting news from @TerryPheto's twitter yesterday. She tweeted on October 6th - Great News... HOPEVILLE has been nominated for an EMMY AWARD. Best TV Movie/Mini-Series. I had already blogged about the HOPEVILLE movie , which was released in South African theatres September 3rd. I am waiting patiently for it to be on DVD, which will take a while. The movie's trailer speaks volumes and am personally not surprised that the television show has been nominated for an International Emmy in the TV Movie/Mini-Series category. I have never heard of any African television show being nominated for an International Emmy. This is big! Local is lekker! Hopeville has already won an international award, it won for best drama and mini-series at the Rose d’Or Festival in Lucerne, Switzerland on 22 September, where it beat 85 other TV dramas. In the International Emmy competition Hopeville is competing against three other nominees: Germany’s The Author of Himself, the UK’s Small Isl

One of my Presec mates (Odadee) posted on my wall this week "I hope I'm not the only one getting Conversations With Myself". Then I conf pass corn flakes dem conference for corn inside. After I asked him about it, he said "New Madiba book...heard about it on 60 minutes...I get chills whenever i hear about this man...same feeling i had when i watched Invictus i had today". Yep, same feeling I also had when I watched Invictus with a dear one last December. I can't even begin to describe Nelson Mandela in one blog post . That makes me think, why didn't I even blog about Invictus? I think I should. Then again, I am a bigger fan of movies than books. Dont judge me. I'll read this one . Because a book called "Conversations with Myself" is too good to pass up. Ayoba. I stumbled upon the story again on one of my favorite websites, Africagoodnews.com . Seriously, follow them on Twitter @sagoodnews. Yes, it started as sagoodnews.co.za and now they ha

My favorite African re-engineer/inventor/ingenious maker/technologist Apostle Kwadwo Safo has a website. Kantanka DOT COM ! Check it out today. Sorry, I was too excited that I wouldn't even bother telling you more. Everything is on the website anyway. This information is too much for a tweet so we blogged it. Yes, me, myself and I. Well, maybe' we'll update this post later. Thanks to Esi Ansah, Barcamp Accra for the link. She is planning to go visit Apostle's site with her Ashesi students. #VIM!

My friend, @Skyllie of Afroziky sent me this movie trailer today. It was for a movie called Africa United. We saw a lot of 'AfricaUnited' around the Mzansi Mundial aka FIFA World Cup in South Africa in June-July 2010. There was even some images that many people used as profile pictures on Facebook. It seemed that Ghana's Black Stars, Nigeria's Super Eagles, Cote D'Ivoire Les Elephants, Cameroun's Indomitable Lions, Algeria's Desert Warriors and South Africa's Bafana Bafana were all playing for Africa . So once the Black Stars of Ghana were left standing, it was still Africa United. Or BaGhana BaGhana if you like. So a movie about football called Africa United is easily a must-promote, must-buy and must-watch for me. Africa United is an adventure drama from first-time feature director Debs Gardner-Paterson. Young Rwandan Dudu (Eriya Ndayambaje) heads to the football World Cup in Johannesburg with his sister, Beatrice (Sanyu Joanita Kintu), and his friend

Sankofa Pictures sent me info about their shooting Mensa's new music video, No One Knows. Check this story out and visit this site to support the production of this music video. M3NSA recorded his 2nd Album ‘No. 1 MANGO STREET’ (which launches October 2, 2010), as a yearning shout out to the land of his birth. He pays homage and takes a nostalgic trip down memory lane, vividly depicting the rich, varied nuances of Ghanaian life from an adult, almost outsider perspective. This album, mixed and mastered by GRAMMY AWARD WINNING engineer Ed Reed, features a perfect blend of well-known and upcoming gifted artists with an authentic feel of West African high-life, beautifully fused with an organic hip-hop sound. This unique 14 track collection is excitingly new yet strangely familiar. From No. 1 Mango Street, we introduce to you, his 1st international single, ‘ No One Knows '. Our Cause "I believe it is impossible to make sense of life in this world except through art."-