Genevieve Nnaji Cut From Half of a Yellow Sun Movie?

Reports coming out of Nollywood indicate that the adaptation of Chimamanda Adichie's award winning book, Half of a Yellow Sun, will be screened at the 2013 FESPACO film festival, opening in Ouagadougou, February 23. That means it may be reaching the cinemas as soon as summer, if not before.

The feature film has a cast that includes Thandie Newton [who remembers the furor?], John Boyega, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Dominic Cooper, Anika Noni Rose, and Joseph Mawle. Nigerians involved in the project are Biyi Bandele, directing, Cobhams Asuquo and Keziah Jones, both composing original music for the film, and Genevieve Nnaji with small acting part. Most of that small role may have ended on the editing/cutting room floor.

Like I've learned since I started doing movie reviews, all adapted films have three stages - there's the book, then the script, and finally the director's vision. So anything can happen to change around a story during those stages. If you've read the book, you'll know there's a heartbreaking love story involved, but I'm not sure which part Genevieve is playing.

Boiled Potatoes With Celery and Tomato Stew

I love vegetable sauces, I like that between 15 - 25 minutes I have a ready meal when I need it. I can either stir-fry, fry, steam or just saute a mix of my choice of vegetables and voila! Food is ready. Celery is one of those vegetables I got introduced to after I left Nigeria, and I fell in love with it's refreshing taste and flavor. I had to be sure how it is cooked, and unlike most vegetables, this actually requires 15 - 20 minutes to be well cooked.

To make this stew, you need the following;
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
A small bunch of celery stalks with some hearts if possible. Washed and sliced
Four medium sized tomatoes, chopped
Half a medium sized onion, sliced
Ground pepper,
Salt and spices to taste.

When People Say Men Must Rape

I try not to take most things too seriously, but there are issues that get my blood boiling. One of those topics is rape. Women and children continue to be the vast majority when victims of rape are numbered, and I find it galling that our culture would rather blame them or sweep the stories under the carpet, than face the men who perpetrate this hate crime, and deal them full and swift justice.

Now, someone who reads this blog, has written an article for YNaija that seems to be in response to my earlier post, Lets talk to the men who rape, shall we?

In his article, he agrees with my point that a lot of Nigerian men struggle with thoughts of rape, or may have raped before. [This I think is due to the heavily partriarchal culture in Nigeria, where women are expected to be subservient to men, and women's bodies are seen as owned by their men or the society].

A Romantic Short Film to Make You Fall in Love

This video is just too cute, and the ending put a goofy smile on my face. But I wonder though, are there poeple who are absent-minded and forgetful as that lady in the ad? I can't help but think that one day she'll even forget herself join, hehehe...

How To Date Someone You Work With

Once deemed extremely taboo in the workplace, dating between coworkers is no longer swept under the rug as it used to be. This can be attributed to the fact that many companies have enacted policies to specifically address the proper means of handling such romances, and, if handled in a professional and appropriate manner, these interoffice relationships may not cause friction and lack of productivity amongst coworkers. Let us not forget, Barack and Michelle met on the job, so it may not be as bad of a look as some may believe it to be.

A 2012 CareerBuilder survey found nearly 38% percent of workers have had at least one interoffice romance at one point of their career, although, according to Forbes Magazine, competing company Vault.com found nearly 59% percent of workers surveyed admitted to having a workplace relationship. Of those who dated at work, CareerBuilder found that, like the Obamas, 31 % said their office romances wound up leading to marriage. With numbers like this, companies could no longer turn a blind eye to secretive dalliances of employees.

Watch all Episodes of Lekki Wives Online

So I blogged about the Lekki Wives series earlier, wondering if they were the morality police or something. This was based on their overly politically-and-religiously-correct PR. But the production and previews were enough to get me interested, and so when it became available, I tried out the first four episodes.

It may be too early to call, but let's just say the show is quite engaging. Maybe by the end, everyone would start getting their comeuppances in order to drive the message, but for now, girls just wanna have fun. The Lekki wives are either not smiling, or they're having the time of their lives.

There are five storylines and by the end of the fourth season, a little or a lot as the case may be, has been revealed about all the lekki wives. As you can easily guess, some plots are better and more realistic than others. I have my favorites already; the trophy wife with the ample butt, followed closely by the one torn between two worlds. Which side do you think she chooses?

2013 Superbowl Promo and Commercials

Beyonce is leading the charge for this years superbowl commercials and that's her promo picture. Last year's Super Bowl halftime show drew an estimated 4 million viewers in addition to the almost 110 million people that watched the game itself! That’s right: nearly four million more people tuned in to watch Madonna perform. This year, mega-superstar singer Beyoncé Knowles will be headlining the halftime show.

Grilled Beef Ribs with Vegetable and Mushroom

Most of us, myself included, believe it's not a proper meal if there's no carbohydrate involved. So most of our meals feature a starchy element either as the main meal or a side. If you're a typical Nigerian like me, it had to be the main dish jare, at least by size.

So the eba/poundo/amala has to be bigger than the efo, the rice has to fill the plate, then you'll add a jot of stew or sauce to the top, if you're eating moi-moi or beans, there has to be akamu/ogi/custard or you drink garri with plenty sugar. If you've seen the moi-moi post you'll know I really have a ways to go myself on this issue.

But last year while on the Bouari program, I made a realization. The program promotes healthy eating and calorie counting and wherever possible, all their menu and recipe samples asked for me to quit the carbs. While on the program I did, afterwards, I regressed. But I had learnt some things and they stuck.

A Woman Tries to Kill Husband Through Oral Sex

Or Death by the Poisoned Vagina Chronicles. SMH. An allegedly murderous wife tried to kill her husband by putting poison in her vagina and asking him to give her oral sex. The Mirror UK reports;

"A woman is being sued by her husband for allegedly trying to kill him by putting poison in her genitals and then asking him to perform oral sex. The Brazilian wife is accused of planting a toxic substance on her genitals before luring her husband to bed. Reports in the South American country suggest he was ready and willing, and only escaped death because he noticed a strange smell. The curious husband then took his wife to hospital in Sao Jose do Rito Preto to find out the cause of the unusual odour. The alleged attempt on his life was exposed when tests on his wife discovered traces of a poisonous substance down below."

When I hear news like this, or some episodes of Dateline and 48hr Mysteries, I wonder. What drives a partner to murder, or plot to murder their spouses? In this woman's case, wasn't she scared that the toxic stuff she put in her vagina could poison her too? This life, na wa!

5 Things to Consider Before Becoming a Housewife

I'll use my personal experience here. I wrote about changing careers after marriage and how I had to move from the UK to the US to join Atala. Making that step was not a simple, light-hearted decision, or one that we took for granted. And that was why I said at the beginning of this article that contrary to most other women, I planned to be a housewife.

We had several conversations about the issue, and contemplated several scenarios, which apart from the option of living in the US together, included Atala moving back to the UK, both of us moving back to Nigeria, only me moving back, or remaining in the UK. None made as much sense as the one we finally went with, moving here and being a stay at home wife.

And though we didn't think it would take this long, a stay at home wife is what I've been for the past few years, and that is the easy part. For the stay home mom, the workload increases exponentially with each child. Add child care to the housework, and you may be working round the clock, especially if you decide to home-school the children. So what should you consider before you jump in?