Obviously, we here at Africa is a Country are fully behind Bafana Bafana, and the rest of the teams representing Africa at the 2010 World Cup. And, yes, unlike Chimamanda Adichie, that also includes Algeria. As this is the second World Cup I am watching as an American citizen, though, I am also supporting the U.S. national team.
It’s hard to describe the vibe here. Yes, there’s the unreasonable expectations around the team (captured well by my man Tony Karon on Time magazine’s World Cup blog) and the vuvuzelas may be annoying. But yes you can feel it. It is the World Cup. And away from the big stadiums and the tourist districts and downtowns–I spent some time today in central Cape Town with my 4 year old and shouting out Chilean and Algerian fans–there is a lot of spirit (gees, the Afrikaans word for spirit, is the preferred term here) as this short video by The Fader show. The magazine has some deal with Nike to produce an online documentary series on “… the music, art and culture of South Africa in 2010.” Blk Jks and some local groups are thrown in for good effect.
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– Sean Jacobs
I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty sure people don’t belong in zoos. People, after all, aren’t animals. Of course, when it comes to Africa and Africans, we all know such thinking does not apply. And here I thought the scientific community had settled this once and for all. Now, the Houston Zoo is continuing in this grand tradition with its forthcoming African Forest exhibit, construction on which started this month. Coming December 2010: Travel to Africa—No Passport Needed!
Well then, let’s travel, shall we? An “extraordinary adventure” awaits!
The Super Eagles are kicking off against Greece shortly, so today’s 2010 World Cup music moment comes from Nneka. She’s got a song, “Viva Africa,” on Listen Up, the official 2010 FIFA World Cup album. Here’s the just-released video. We like Nneka around here, but this song and video get a *Kanye shrug* from me. The kids are cute though.
I went to ESPN’s website to check WC scores and was surprised to find two short videos on its soccer homepage commemorating the June 16, 1976 student uprising in Soweto. A day which is now recognized as “Youth Day,” a national holiday.
Check them out for yourself:
Courtesy of Ghetto Bassquake (whose World Cup Rivalry series I highly recommend), and just in time for Bafana Bafana’s imminent kickoff against Uruguay, we bring you DJ Sbu’s “Vuvuzela Bafana,” a track “solely dedicated to motivate the boys.”
Love it or hate it, the vuvuzela is here to stay.
From Nomadic Wax comes World Cup “a one-of-a-kind World Cup-inspired transnational hip-hop collaboration” featuring rappers from Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, the United States, and Europe.
Proving yet again that Africa always comes to the rescue of those Hollywood celebrities in need of relevance, yesterday saw the straight-to-DVD release of a mockumentary on the celebrity African adoption craze from, wait for it, Pauly Shore. Both CNN and The Huffington Post give it the full treatment. Neither is worth your time.
Suffice it to say, this one won’t be getting a review from Allison.
In any case, this has been done before, and much better:
I know many readers believe that addressing global poverty is a fairly complex issue. Well, I’m delighted to inform you that you’re wrong! Apparently, the solution is simple – let people in poor countries send money to nonprofits in rich countries, and through the joy of giving a thousand crops will bloom.
At least that is the gist of an article called “Bob Goff Turns the Idea of Charity Upside Down,” about an organization called Restore International that is apparently raising money with Ugandan school children to donate to a youth nonprofit in Oregon, USA called The Mentoring Project. Little can be found about Restore International on their website other than a breaking news item that they are ‘rescuing Ugandan children out of forced prostitution.’
To be honest, when I first read this article I thought it was a brilliant spoof of the international NGO scene – but I think they’re serious. Writes Justin Zoradi of the Mentoring Project on the idea of cross-cultural giving in the article:
“Remember the parable Jesus told about the widow who gave her last coin to the poor in Mark 12? In the same vein, let’s not take away the opportunity for the boys from Uganda to be blessed by God and experience the joy of giving…And, maybe if we gave the global south more opportunities to experience the joys of giving, they’d be more likely to pull their own countries out of poverty.”
Right.
– Caitlin L. Chandler
Some sad news–amid the euphoria of the World Cup–from journalist Bongani Madondo:
Busi Mhlongo passed away 9:19 pm South African time, Tuesday night, some hours before June 16 Commemoration.
Long Live The Quee. Long Live The Zulu Rock Queen. Long Live Queen B!
Busi Victoria Mhlongo: 1948-2010.
For those who missed Bongani’s last post on Busi on this blog, please read it here.
