applied otherism

#selfie #shadow #bow #sun #joburg #african #autumn

Sun, 05 May 2013 16:08:04 +0300

#selfie #shadow #bow #sun #joburg #african #autumn

#shadow #selfie #bow its still so warm around here… Winter...

Sun, 05 May 2013 16:02:48 +0300

#shadow #selfie #bow its still so warm around here… Winter must just give up and come back next year. (at Linden)

Mr man and his “well trained and educated” baby...

Sat, 04 May 2013 14:32:43 +0300

Mr man and his “well trained and educated” baby #snake #joburg #jozi #muti #sangoma #african #spirituality (at johannesburg)

#live ass #snake in the back of a car… Gawd. Only in...

Sat, 04 May 2013 14:27:08 +0300

#live ass #snake in the back of a car… Gawd. Only in #joburg #cbd #jozi #creepy #love it though… The owner sells #muti soap and all that good stuff.

Photo

Thu, 02 May 2013 23:30:54 +0300

fammori: I love her too. :D

Thu, 02 May 2013 23:29:57 +0300

fammori:

I love her too. :D

mutombodapoet: Some pictures from James Town over the weekend...

Thu, 02 May 2013 23:19:38 +0300

mutombodapoet:

Some pictures from James Town over the weekend when I joined Strolling Goats by Accra dot Alt for a photo-walk. The negative perception i had about James Town changed on this day. Forget about the rest. Beautiful People, coastal breeze and good kenkey.

Enjoy!

"When I arrived at the University of Ghana to begin my freshman year, I was steeped in..."

Thu, 02 May 2013 23:18:31 +0300

“When I arrived at the University of Ghana to begin my freshman year, I was steeped in disappointment. I hadn’t been granted the courses of study that I’d indicated were my first and second choices. I’d hoped to study business administration; that had been my first choice. I’d chosen it because it was the most popular major at the university, one to which prospective employers were said to respond. …
     …
     My disappointment and that general feeling of having been cheated also stemmed from the fact that in addition to not being granted my top course choices, I was not granted my top choices in halls of residence.
     …
     Legon Hall was my first choice because I was told it was peaceful and quiet, a hall of gentlemen. My next choice was Mensah Sarbah [Hall], which I’d been told was beautiful. The residents of the hall were called the Vikings and were said to be extremely good at sports. Third was Akuafo [Hall], which was dedicated to the farmers of Ghana. My fourth and final choice was Commonwealth, and that was where I was assigned.      Commonwealth Hall had a controversial reputation. Its residents were called the ‘VANDALs.’ The acronym VANDAL stands for ‘Vivacious, Affable, Neighbourly, Devoted/Dedicated, Altruistic, and Loyal.’ The boys at Commonwealth Hall were said to actually be unruly, rowdy, insulting, and provocative. They paraded on campus virtually half-naked, and they kept a shrine in the hall to Bacchus, the Greek god of wine. Suffice it to say, I did not want to live there.
     Unbeknownst to me, Commonwealth was historically one of the most radical of all the halls of residence. A lot of the political ferment, activism, and rebellion that took place on campus was usually hatched by the residents of Commonwealth. Because of this, the university officials had devised an unwritten rule to balance out the types of personalities and temperaments of the students in the hall.
     Students whose first choice was Commonwealth were assumed to be of the same ilk, so they were automatically assigned to a more subdued hall. Meanwhile, students like me, who were resistant to being in Commonwealth and placed it last in their list of choices, were the ones assigned there.
     The University of Ghana was built on a hill. There is a long, rectangular pond at the front of the entrance. Standing there, facing forward, you can see straight to the top of the hill. When you pass through the main gates, there is a wide boulevard that travels up the steep incline. The boulevard ends at the steps of Commonwealth, forking into two roads that wrap around the enormous building and then continue upward toward the administration’s offices.
     …
     On my first day, I stood at the base of the sweeping concrete stairs. There were a number of final-year students hanging around, singing. They were dressed in strange attire. Some of them had leaves around their neck. One person was wearing a bra and panties. A few were wearing their trousers with one leg down and the other rolled up or cut off into shorts. They were there as our freshman welcoming committee, to help us carry our bags up the stairs to the porter’s lodge, where we were to sign in.      After we’d climbed the stairs and were standing at the entrance of Commonwealth Hall, I noticed that a coat of arms was affixed to the top of the arched doorway. Embossed on the coat of arms were the words Truth Stands, which is the hall’s motto.
     This was a cardinal moment for me. I stood there, having just arrived at this preeminent Ghanaian university, looking at the coat of arms and the hall’s motto, ‘Truth Stands.’ I felt humbled; I felt filled with purpose. It occurred to me that the hundreds of people who had walked through the doors of that hall had uncovered the truth of their lives. I was determined to do the same.
     I later learned that the Commonwealth Hall motto, ‘Truth Stands,’ was taken from the poem ‘Satire III’ by the English poet John Donne. This, to me, made the motto all the more profound.

     To stand inquiring right, is not to stray;
     To sleep, or run wrong, is. On a huge hill,
     Cragged and steep, Truth stands, and he that will
     Reach her, about must and about must go,
     And what the hill’s suddenness resists, win so.”

- John Dramani Mahama, My First Coup D’Etat: And Other True Stories From the Lost Decades of Africa (New York: Bloomsbury, 2012), 198, 199–202. (via erkjhnsn)

elisamexica: reclaimingthelatinatag: blackpoemusic: Frida by...

Thu, 02 May 2013 23:08:50 +0300

elisamexica:

reclaimingthelatinatag:

blackpoemusic:

Frida by Senegalese photographer Omar Viktor Diop shot in Abidjan.

We can’t get enough of Omar Victor Diop today

Senegal

Same drawings as yesterday, but better = added more details and...

Thu, 02 May 2013 00:56:37 +0300

Same drawings as yesterday, but better = added more details and gave them alien heads cuz I am not ready.to draw hair yet. I love the first one’s face and the 2nd ones outfit, ill make it when im done making people’s stuff!!!
Next up: the last 3 sketches, colour and pen! Ill scan the final result as well!

4 more #sketch before going to bed… They’re all...

Wed, 01 May 2013 01:49:47 +0300

4 more #sketch before going to bed… They’re all unfinished and really really rough :-) #fashion #drawing

pretty, cheap yarn that i want to use now. But i have to make...

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 21:13:52 +0300

pretty, cheap yarn that i want to use now. But i have to make nice little balls first… ugh.

Random #sketch of the night… Not finished though. #fashion...

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 00:53:20 +0300

Random #sketch of the night… Not finished though. #fashion #drawing

pamelatutu: Crochet crown by Xenobia Bailey.

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 10:42:23 +0300

pamelatutu:

Crochet crown by Xenobia Bailey.

cajunmama: tiny-reasons: avocado > mayo, all day, everyday,...

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 10:40:49 +0300

cajunmama:

tiny-reasons:

avocado > mayo, all day, everyday, forever.

This is funny because I always tell my kids that avocados are “nature’s mayo.” I’ve never heard it compared to that before seeing this.

rachelskarsten: DO I LOOK LIKE I CARE? (◠‿◠✿) bitch, the...

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 19:15:22 +0300

rachelskarsten:

DO I LOOK LIKE I CARE? (◠‿◠✿)

bitch, the plastiscines / i love it (i don’t care), icona pop / i like you so much better when you’re naked, ida maria / shut up and let me go, the ting tings / fuckarias, those dancing days / dancing with myself, the donnas / don’t save me, haim / dickhead, kate nash / hey get out of my way, the cardigans / you suck, the murmurs / complicated, the cliks / shut your mouth, garbage / i don’t care (so there), the donnas

#emc #backtothecity #bttc2013 #newtown #joburg too dope

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 00:12:35 +0300

#emc #backtothecity #bttc2013 #newtown #joburg too dope

Photo

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 14:48:13 +0300

praisethelorde: Siza’s ( @gaykindalove ) jacket! Lining = done!...

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 14:47:50 +0300

praisethelorde:

Siza’s ( @gaykindalove ) jacket! Lining = done! #sewing #jacket #africanprint

iwouldhaveyousmileagain: (via 20 Ways to Tie a Head Scarf |...

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 14:47:24 +0300

iwouldhaveyousmileagain:

(via 20 Ways to Tie a Head Scarf | Scarves.net)