Highlights of 2009....

Heyy bloggers,

I am sure you are wondering how come I am blogging so much. That is because I finally got my broadband, woohoo!

So I loveee making lists of my fave things and I decided to take you all through my top things from 2009. Let me know what you think.

Enjoy

Top Hollywood Movies of 2009

10)Drag Me to Hell

9)District 9

8))Taken

7)Juno

6)Law Abiding Citizen

5)Star Trek

5)Angels and Deamons

4)X-Men Origins

3)Curious Case of Benjamin Button

2)The Reader

2)The Hangover

1)500 days of Summer

1)Avatar

Yes there were alot of ties!

Best Nollywood movies of 2009

8)Onitemi

7)Mind Game

6)Games Men Play

5)Because You Loved Me

4) Aye Olo mo Kan

3)Perfect Picture

2)Guilty Pleasures

1)Jenifa

Best T.V Shows

10)Modern Family

9) 8 out of 10 Cats

8)How I Met Your Mother

7)Gossip Girl(which has also lost the plot but I'm also hooked)

6)X-factor(which was shit this year but I'm addicted)

5)Ugly Betty

4)Entourage

3)Two and a Half Men

2)Desperate Housewives

1)The Big Bang Theory

Best Naija Artists of 2009 (I was going to do top songs but I need to dedicate a whole post to that)

10)Timaya/J.Martins(dey sound exactly the same)

9) Darey Art Alade

8)Mo Hits

7)Da Grin(am on this guy like crazy now, you guys need to check him out!)

6)2face(yes he has dropped alot in popularity)

5)Naeto C

4)Banky W

3)P-Square

2)Wande Coal

2)D'banj

1)9ice

1)M.I

1)Asa

Break Out Naija Artists of 2009

10) D.J Zeez

9)K.C Presh

8)Ice Prince Zamani

7)Da Prince/Dr Sid

6)Jesse Jagz

6)Dagrin

5)Omawunmi

4)Kel

3)Terry G/Ay.com

2)Bracket

1) Wande Coal

Top Books of 2009

10) Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Adichie(because I love it so much)

9)Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man by Steve Harvey

8)Waiting For An Angel by Helon Habila

7) Measuring Time by Helon Habila

6)I Do Not Come to You by Chance by Adaobi Traci Nwaubani

5)The Other Hand by Chris Cleve

4)Say You're One of Them by Umem Akpan

3)The Mrs Club by Ekene Onu

2)The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

1)The Thing Around Your Neck-Chimamnda Adicie

What do y'all think of my lists???

Miss B

xoxo

5 more posts to go to my 100th post so dont forget to e-mail your questions to bukky.bolarinwa@gmail.com!

Briton executed in China.....

The story of the british man that was recently executed in China has again saddened me, firstly because I do not believe in the death sentence at all.

But the sad part is not the execution itself, which is quite common for China, which has the highest rate of execution in the world. It is the way the British people, including Gordon Brown fought endlessly to get him pardoned up until his eventual execution. It was all over the news, pettitions were signed, appeal upon appeal made, and eventually diplomatic pleas. Gordon Brown personally phones the Chinese President to request a pardon, and gave a statement this morning saying:

"I condemn the execution of Akmal Shaikh in the strongest terms, and am appalled and disappointed that our persistent requests for clemency have not been granted."

That is what you call Value for Life. There are hundreds and hundreds of Nigerians in prisons around the world, including China, and there is nothing being done about it. Even if they are not eventually pardoned, because afterall, it is their country and they have complete jurisdiction, it is still important to show we fight for our people. In april this year an Igbo man, Mr Ezekwem was executed for Nigerians' favourite crime in China, drug trafficking. In June 2008, two Nigerians were executed in Indonesia for trafficking in hard drugs and 18 are still on the death row in that country.

But what is to be expected for a country that has no respect from the International community. Although these countries are notorious for their executions, as shown with the ignored pleas of Gordon Brown, it just another illustration of Nigeria's terrible image abroad.

How can we rebrand Nigeria when we have so many of these problems??

Miss B

xoxo

Only 6 more posts to go to my 100th post, woohoo, send ur questions to bukky.bolarinwa@gmail.com

Nigerian Terrorist....

Heyy blogsville,

I hope you are all having an amazing holiday. I know I have! But I have been saddened by the news I'm sure most of you have heared. Its about the 23 yr old Nigerian boy that attempted the supposed terrorist attack on the plane to the U.S. The story is headline on news all over the BBC, CNN and my trusted Al-Jazeera.


It is such a sad sad situation, and I feel like it could be anyone of us. At first I felt so angry, but now I just feel saddened by the whole situation. This boy is a Kaduna boy, lived around my area, and looks like any normal middle class northern kid. Infact, he is quite priviledged, his dad was a minister, and head of First Bank. He studied Engineering in UCL, and International Business in Dubai. The world was literally at his feet.


According to my mum, his dad married a lady from Yemen, and that was how he was introduced to the country where he later went to study arabic. After which he said he wasnt coming back, and wanted to study Sharia Law, which is when his dad informed the American embassy that he feared his son would do something stupid as he had developed extremist views.


Infact, he is now alledged to have been involved in the whole Boko Haram fiasco in Northern Nigeria earlier this year.


I have tried to rationalise what could have made someone so "normal" decided to take such drastic actions, and I guess we'll never know. I hate him for being selfish and heartless enough to try and attempt(even though it was a pretty weak one) to take the lives of innocent people on xmas day. People who you dont know, and are just trying to enjoy the holidays. I hate him for promoting hate in the name of Islam, the most peaceful religion on earth. I hate him for the untold difficulty he has caused/will cause for airport security and travelling. I hate him for the countless visa refusals that will be given as a result of this. I hate him for ruining the image of Nigeria and adding terrorist to our already terrible tags. But most of all I hate him for bringing shame to his family, and father, whom from all I hear is a gentle person that gave him all the best a child can be given.





To say this year has been hard on Nigeria's image would be the understatement of the century. From the sony advert, to District 9, the various Niger-Delta wahala and kidnappings, Child witches and now as if this wasnt amazing enough, we can now add the "terrorist" label to our glowing c.v. Let us not forget that the average foreigner only knows what they are fed by the various media sources. Where is Mrs Dora and her rebrand of Nigeria???


But the same goes for everyone in one way or the other. Think about it, for me when I think of say Congo for example, the tags "war, cobalt, vast rape and poverty" are what comes to mind. I am sure that there is so much more about Congo I do not know, but these are the most popular news that are reported about them, so it is stuck.





This is a such as sad sad shame........

May 2010 be a much better year for Nigeria.....Amen!

P.s dont forget to send your questions to bukky.bolarinwa@gmail.com for my upcoming 100th post! Am so excited, it has been an amazing year!

Enjoy

xoxo

Miss B

Naijadaydreamer is 1!!!

Heyy blogsville,
Yeaaaaa, happpy birthday to njdd(wt dya thnk of my nickckname lol).
Blogsville has been AMAZING to me! I have made some amazing friends, learnt so much and found a way to air my views to like-minded people! Although this blog has also brought me its share of drama, it has been a FANTABULOUS year! In true blogsville fashion, my 100th post will be answering any questions you have for Miss B! You can e-mail your questions to bukky.bolarinwa@gmail.com and I will do my best to answer them, you guys should not be naughty oh!LOL
Enjoy
Xoxo
Miss B.

Its a sunday morning in December, and the newspaper vendor screams "Get one! get one! financial recession causes fashion depression". It is that time of the year again, where fashionistas are money strapped,but the events (especially weddings) keep piling up.

Increased patronage at Paks bridal Lagos (a discreet wedding gown rental service) is the most recent indicator, of the fashion depression across the globe. To our uninformed reader this rise in rental statistics might be obscure and possibly taken for granted.

However, if the possibility of a fashion lackey Nigerian bride, subjecting herself to a previously worn wedding gown (albeit by another fashionista with divine taste) does not scream fashion depression to you maybe our other indicators might wet your appetite.

These other indicators include luxury foot wear designers like Jimmy choo, breaking the cardinal principle of exclusivity, by granting accessibilty to their works of art, to mere mortals like you and I,through the creation of an inexpensive shoe line for high street store H & M.

But the icing on the cake came when trend setters like Diddy and the Queen of England started recycling their wardrobes, yes you read right, petrified yet?

Diddy is all about his bling and when he starts cutting down on the bling....it definitely raises some brows.

For everyday gals like us, we have been forced to explore a more fashion forward or is it backward solution to the recession, in the form of vintage shopping. In my bid to ensure the recession, does not get my fashion depressed I visited my very own Portabello way (my mothers old suitcases), luckily my passion for fashion was hereditary,and I was amazed at the treasures I found,a versace purse which I debuted the weekend past,a tartan blazer and a funky shoulder padded blouse reminiscent of Balmain(well not quite...but come on we are in a recession,cut me some slack).The blazer and the blouse might need a bit of taking in,but thankfully I live in Lagos, were tailors are an accessible luxury.

Considering fashion is so cyclical, vintage shoping presents, a budget tight but fashion forward fashionista a break-even point. Vintage shopping provides you with trendy options at a cheaper price, with the only down side being, the absence of that brand newfeeling. After my suitcase raid,I got to thinking and I realised that fashion and finance had a few things in common, for one they are both very expensive games to play in,they are both cyclical in trends and finally they both preach the importance of quality and timeless purchases such as purses by versace and chanel . If these indicators are not a cause for hyper-ventilation to fashionistas across the globe I don't know what is.

Fashion like finance is a survival of the fittest,sometimes you win some,other times you lose some.

And to you discerning fashionistas,looking down your nose,at us vintage shoppers, I dare say if the Queen of England can do it,I can do it too.

Miss L.C

xxx

Hawaii or Alaska.....Where Are You Headed??

Heyy blogsville,

I read this article on Bella by Ekene Onu, the author of one of my fave books the Mrs Club, and I loved the analysis, and thought I should share it with you! Yes, I know I am too good to you. Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

"The other day I was speaking to a dear friend who is waiting for her life partner. She is of age and has everything going for her and she is currently single. I understand her angst, I know people may think yeah, yeah, you are already married how can you relate? Well while I may not fully grasp the depth of her concern, rest assured I myself felt it at times.

We had an interesting conversation. She was telling me about a man who had come on the scene but he had a few hiccups or commas or red flags. She had asked me for advice about whether or not she should proceed with this man. He had many of the qualities that she wanted but he also had many of the flaws she desperately wanted to avoid. I listened to her, this brilliant, compassionate, solid woman, someone who I often turned to for counsel, tell me her reasons for considering this man. She kept talking and I kept asking questions and then she said something that I love her for. She broke it down honestly. “I am not getting any younger and it’s not like I have a lot of prospects, so maybe I should just take what is in front of me”. I was so glad when she put it plainly because here was something we could deal with.

I couldn’t tell her whether or not he would be a good man because only God knows a man’s heart…and even the bible tells us it can be desperately wicked.I couldn’t tell her if she would be happy with him, even couples who profess undying love at the wedding day sometimes hate each other later.

I could tell her though that the smoke one sees when dating, typically becomes a well stoked fire in marriage.I could tell her that those red flags usually become flashing sirens later on.I could tell her that I loved her enough not to want her to suffer unnecessarily.

I asked her to picture herself in an airport and her marriage a destination. Where would she like to go? Perhaps she thought of a picturesque place like Hawaii; a destination known for its beaches and tropical flavor. Perhaps she had packed a bikini and sunglasses for her trip.Now I wanted her to picture the departure board. All the flights to Hawaii were delayed until further notice. None of the airline staff had any information, except that they knew that corporate planned to send the planes. People seemed to be boarding planes all around her, but when she looked the only available flight she could get on was headed directly to Alaska and it was leaving soon.

What to do? She is not packed for Alaska. She doesn’t even like snow. But it’s the only available flight. Maybe she could learn to like snow, maybe she could buy a parka over there. Don’t they have like a month of summer?All these thoughts rush through her head.
I asked her, is there some apocalyptic event happening at the airport. If you don’t board the plane, is your life in danger?Because there was one other thing I knew for sure. The plane to Alaska will never go to Hawaii.As for her questions, well she could maybe buy a parka. I know many women (and men for that matter) who are in marriages that are difficult because the parties involved were prepared for different experiences and somehow found themselves on the wrong plane. She could learn to like snow, certainly probably after many cold nights, after all I also know marriages that seemed doomed from the start eventually after much heartache and God’s intervention become sweet and loving.

The point of all this is simply this. I love my friend and so I shared with her what I want to share with you. Marriage is not a simple, uncomplicated affair. Even when you are perfectly matched you may find challenges and when you are not if can be a Herculean task to make it work and it will not come without a great deal of heartache and pain. So I know the wait may seem endless and it seems like your partner isn’t out there. I want to encourage you to wait for what you know in your heart that you want and need, as long as those wants are not based on superficial nonsense but rooted in reality and come from true introspection, then wait.

I know the screen says delayed. I know you don’t have any information as to when it is coming. I know you have a wave of panic welling up inside of you.But please know this, if you get on the plane bound for the wrong destination, that’s it. You are on the plane. The pilot will not stop and let you get off. And you may be thinking well I’ll just get divorced. Not as easy as folks make it look, like two pieces of paper that are stuck together can rarely be separated without one or both of them ripping, most people do not get out of divorces completely intact and without some serious and possibly life changing pain and consequences.

Please wait for what you want. Yes, I’m on the other side. So I should have credibility, I know exactly what shade of green the grass is here and I know just how many weeds there are too.Wait, and while you are waiting, look around you…it’s a nice airport, state of the art, they have a lounge where you can get facials and massages, the best restaurants and the shopping is freaking awesome!

Love you. Be well.

Precautionary Love.....

Heyy bloggsville,

Have you missed me? So before I start the subject of this post, I have to tell you something me that has had me cracking up at work. This might be a breach of confidentiality or something, but I just have to share it. In our names database you come across the funniest names ever, my faves are:

-Mariah Hooker

-Dick Longbottom

-Mr Posey

-John Scruedis

-Mr Hood

and a company called Superwinch Ltd.......Lmaooo!

But back to this gist, I was trying to hook my friend up with my cousin (yes i am a perpetual matchmaker), and she was asking the normal questions you would want to know when you are getting fixed up. Now she was all enthused about it, and willing to talk to him until she found out that he was muslim. Once this fact came out, she lost interest like a deflated baloon, and didnt even want to bother to get to know him anymore.

Now this is a something that I am noticing more and more with my friends, they are unwilling to get to even know a guy who doesnt have what they consider "social compatability". This is when you have a list of social factors that a person must have to even qualify for a relationship. It usually consists of age, race, religion, culture, education, nationality, beliefs, and even blood group. Some of these are more important than others, but the most common is religion.

It might be seem really hypocritical of me to comment on this as I have only ever dated muslim guys, BUT I have never intentionally chosen to only date people who are muslims, its just pure coincedence! I swear......but subconsciously a part of me thinks........is it?

Anyway this isnt about me, but one of my friends, Oye is all for this precautionary love. She believes that why should you bother falling for a guy where you can forsee so many problems in the future?

Two of my best friends have broken up with guys that they were absolutely in love with because of religion. And in both cases, the women were willing to sacrifice their religion to be with the man, but the guys were not willing to and broke it off. This is because women are always more willing to compromise in relationships when they fall, so the logic is why put yourself in such a difficult situation in the first place.

Oye believes that emotions are one of those things that we can actually control, in this world where so many things are out of our hands. Even in relationships where you are a 100% compatible, there are over a million problems that could crop up. So why add on top of your worries?

So her theory is if you are getting to know someone and you have some major divides in social/cultural values that you are not willing to compromise in, then stop, before too much gets involves.

The key here is "willing to compromise". For some people, religion is not such a big issue, maybe being conservatice or labour is something that you are not willing to compromise on.

But my question is, do you prevent yourself from getting to know someone just because this? What if that person you do not want to give a chance because of a social reason turns out to be the love of your life??

What if you never get to know what true love means because you are not willing to open your heart to someone who doesn't fit into your ideal? I have never said that I could not be with a person because of their race, religion, culture or beliefs. I am a free spirit and believe that we can find love in the most unexpected places if we open our eyes and hearts. One of my fave movies is Something New because it tells the story of a closed minded woman who finds love after she frees her closed mind, so that when she does find what she thought she wanted, it does not bring her the joy that she was so sure it would.

Now this type of love is always more difficult, more complicated, and will be socially frowned upon. Just last week, my dad was hinting that he would like all his children to marry yorubas. Me and my bro laughed our heads off cause we both knew that was never going to happen. Yes, it is alwayes harder, to try and understand others, accept each other's beliefs and priorities, but that extra difficultly just might be worth it.

I think that we, as Nigerian women especially, can be so closed minded sometimes. Naija guys are more willing to date any colour or type as girl as long as they like her, and I think that we need to give this a try. We definately need to try Something New........

Enjoy

xoxo

Miss B.