OC Ukeje - February Man Candy #26

OC Ukeje is one of the new and quite talented actors in Nollywood. He was nominated by one of you readers and though I've not seen any of his movies, I've seen and liked some of the previews and look forward to watching the full films.

Dear Myne - How Do I know if She's Interested in Me?

Good day Myne. I m an avid follower of your blog. I love your topics as I can relate to and I've learnt a lot from many of them. If I am asked to describe myself, I would say I am an hopeless romantic who still believes in real love. I was first attracted to a girl when I was a teenager at an annual religious convention. I saw this girl from afar twice and have not seen her since then. But though I didn't have any means of contacting her, I was madly in love with her for 6 yrs.

Late last year, I met a girl in my neighbourhood in Lagos on my return from my national youth service. I didn't quite fall in love at first sight but I kinda liked her and wanted to get to know her more. She began coming around more often - in the evenings, - to watch films on my laptop. She was so free with my cousins and aunt and the neighbours when she came that I thought she had always been coming around during my absence. I didn't know then but I later discovered she only began coming around while I was there.

How to Make Nsala Soup - also called White Soup

Ofe Nsala is one of the soups I believe that is native to Asaba, it is also prepared in other parts of Nigeria and called White soup in general because most times, it is cooked without palm oil. The pale greenish color comes from the utazizi leaf and maybe some of the spices.

Nsala is sometimes made for new mothers, and should be usually liquid enough to be sipped from a spoon, but some also prefer the thicker version. There are probably as many recipes for cooking Nsala as there are people who have ever cooked it, but this is just my simple recipe.

Ingredients

5 pounds of your choice of meat, here I use Chicken Drunsticks
6 Cafish Filets
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large tomato, diced in large pieces
2 tablespoons of ground crayfish
3 teaspoons of ground pepper
2 cubes of maggi chicken
2 tablespoons of ground dry Utazizi or Utazi
3 teaspoons of Nsala spices mixture
5 Ladle spoons of poundo yam powder for thickening
Salt to taste

Omotola Jalade and Husband's PDA at her Birthday Party

It was Omotola Jalade's birthday some weeks ago, but she was outside Nigeria then. A more private ceremony was held today to celebrate her with her husband and close friends. BankyW shared these pictures on Instagram and titled this one @realomosexy and the Captain... at her surprise birthday party. All together now.. "awwwww" :-)

See more pictures below...

Janet Jackson is Married, Plans to Adopt Children

There were a lot of rumors late last year about Janet Jackson's engagement to Wissam Al Mana and the plans for their wedding which included gifts of rolexes and chartered planes and resorts, etc. All that is made up. Janet and Wissam who are actually already married, just released a statement to ET which included the following;

"The rumors regarding an extravagant wedding are simply not true. Last year we were married in a quiet, private and beautiful ceremony. Our wedding gifts to one another were contributions to our respective favorite children's charities. We would appreciate that our privacy is respected and that we are allowed this time for celebration and joy. With love, Wissam and Janet""

The Onion Apologizes to Quvenzhane Wallis for Offensive Tweet

Yesterday as the Oscars were going on, The Onion was live tweeting with their usual brand of sarcastic humor. Unfortunately, whoever it was handling the account went off the deep end by targeting 9years old Quvenzhane Wallis who had been nominated for a Best Actress Oscar. The tweet insinuated that most people were not happy about the nomination, and called her the C-word.

Now, I'm one of those who don't mind the N-word like it was used in Django, but I can never see a good way one can use the C-word. It was never an accepted part of language, and has always been a derogatory reference to a woman's private part. I wonder whether the person who wrote that was high on something, how could they pick on young child like that? Bullying is never a good look, and especially not from adults to children.

Quvenzhane is just nine, she may not even know the meaning of the word and now she has to maybe read about it on her twitter timeline if she has one. Maybe some strange journalist might even have asked her what it feels like to be addressed as such at a post-Oscar party. How will she answer? How will her parents explain? Such a slur is vulgar, it is misogynistic, it is racist, and just all round offensive.

15 Tips On How To Build A Healthy Relationship

1. Choose a partner wisely and well. We are attracted to people for all kinds of reasons. They remind us of someone from our past. They shower us with gifts and make us feel important. Evaluate a potential partner as you would a friend; look at their character, personality, values, their generosity of spirit, the relationship between their words and actions, their relationships with others. [More - 15 Topics for Couples thinking of Marriage]

2. Know your partner's beliefs about relationships. Different people have different and often conflicting beliefs about relationships. You don't want to fall in love with someone who expects lots of dishonesty in relationships; they'll create it where it doesn't exist. [More - Expectations from Relationships]

3. Don't confuse sex with love. Especially in the beginning of a relationship, attraction and pleasure in sex are often mistaken for love. [More - Love is More than Sex]

4. Know your needs and speak up for them clearly. A relationship is not a guessing game. Many people, men as well as women, fear stating their needs and, as a result, camouflage them. The result is disappointment at not getting what they want and anger at a partner for not having met their (unstated) needs.  Closeness cannot occur without honesty. Your partner is not a mind reader.

Goldie Buried With Tributes From Husband and Denrele

Goldie [real name Susan Harvey] was buried today at the Ikoyi Vaults and Gardens after her sudden death on Valentine's Day. Her husband, family, Kennis music label and friends were there to bid her farewell. May her soul rest in peace. Below are tributes from her husband Andrew Harvey, pictures of the funeral and tribute from Denrele Edun.

Andrew Harvey's Tribute -

Susan you walked into my life, it was like God sent you as a fresh breath.

I still remember your response to my first love message. You said 'Love killed romeo, sent Diana to an early grave and killed Jack on the Titanic. Forget about love, just have friendship and live long.

Overtime our love grew to a depth I have never known. You were the best years of my life, your smile, your desire to live your dream.

Family's Official Statement on Justus Esiri's Death

We are heart broken as we announce the passing of Chief Justus Esiri OON popularly known as the “Village Headmaster”, following a complication from Diabetes.

Chief Justus Esiri OON, was a loving husband, father, grand father, brother, uncle and friend. An Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON), The Otun Amuludun of the Source in Ile-Ife Osun State, and Veteran Nollywood Actor.

He died in the late hours of the 19th of February 2013. Chief Esiri, born on the 6th November 1942 hailed from Oria Abraka, Delta State. He was a strong believer in family values, and a great supporter of Nollywood.

While we mourn the loss of a great man we also celebrate his remarkable life and hope that it serves as an example to the youth to work hard to achieve their dreams, and play their own part in building a greater nation.

Oscar 2013 Winners - The Complete List

Jennifer Lawrence won Best Actress Award

We watched the full show of the Oscars live, though we missed the red carpet cos we were out. To make the show more interesting since Seth McFarlane wasn't so great, we took bets on who would win most of the major categories, of the 24, we got 7 each correctly so that was a draw. If you read my Oscars predictions post, you'll know I'm really pleased that Jennifer Lawrence got the Best Actress award, Anne Hathaway got the Best Supporting, and Ang Lee for Life of Pi got Best Director.

See the complete list of winners below...