Ebun Olatoye, is widely known as one of the most prominent writers at True Love Magazine. Her strong interest in designs was not common knowledge, however, until now. Information about these designs can be obtained from her blog.
Below is the blog profile.

"The idea of this blog is to feature local and global design events which will inspire creativity in Nigerian artists. Photographer Ade Omolaja says "Design is Fundamental" and I agree. This is why we have collaborated to create this blog which hopefully will show Nigerians the creative genius of their counterparts around the world, and more importantly, show the world the wealth of creative genius that Nigerians have to offer. Design is indeed fundamental and the success of cities like London, Dubai and Singapore are some examples of how design and creativity can be employed to make the world pay attention. We look forward to the day when Nigeria will make the world pay attention to our creative genius."

Go to Ebun's

Bembele's Philosophy

What appears to be
might not actually be what is.
Appearance and reality more often than not
are never one and the same.

----------------------------------------------

Words are beautiful.
You can weave them to create whatever you want.
They are without conscience;
good and evil, they express both justifiably.
Opposite forces accurately accounted for.


-Abimbola 'Bembele' Akindele

Met with Stella Damasus at her home yesterday to discuss the new take-off date of the TV programme, "The World through My Eyes", the Diva's major project which she will be hosting and laspapi producing.
Sometime in October, we start on S-TV before spreading the word on other channels, and for those of you who have fled these shores, we promise an arrangement with TV stations in your areas, you Londonese people particularly.

Bloody Monday

Just a few weeks ago, Bose, who's a doctor at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), sent e-mail around to her friends, asking for blood donors because Nigerian hospitals have a severe shortage. I blogged about the need and forgot about it for a while until four or five days ago when someone dear to me called to say her mother was in hospital. The issue again, blood.

So after rehearsals on saturday, I went with four members of the cast to LUTH. It was time to give blood. We sat waiting outside the donation point where someone pointed out baba eje (The Blood Father)to us. Baba eje makes a living at LUTH from getting blood touts to come sell blood to those in need. Blood Touts? A large sign outside the room read, "No blood Touts allowed" meaning it is a recognized profession, even if illegal. Some of the touts I saw and who were chased away by the lab attendants, looked as if they were in need of blood themselves. Baba Eje would collect N4000 from desperate families and get some lean and hungry fellow come give his life-force. The giver would be given N500 or so. The level of poverty in some classes in Nigeria needs to be revisited by our government.

When it was my turn, the female lab attendant jabbed my finger and let the blood from the pin-prick drop into a solution to see if my blood was suitable. It was and I was made to climb a high couch after which she began to look for a vein she could take the pint of blood from.

Now to laspapi's anatomy: I've never had the knotted, raised veins a lot of males have. Yes, there are veins visible on the back of my hands like everyone else's, but my forearm and all don't have a maze of raised veins like we see sometimes. (Here's where you take a quick look at your own arms).

She searched, poked, tapped, and then proceeded to jab her needle with the blood bag attached into my arm in 3 different places. No blood flowed. As an aside, even though I have donated blood 3ce or so over the years, I hate pain, am not into sado-masochism and don't derive pleasure from being used as a needle cushion. Anyway, after a wait of more than one and half hours with no blood flowing, I left. My cast members teased me saying the lab tech had a crush on me and had deliberately kept me behind till everyone else had left.

Monday Morning, I reported there with my friends, Kenneth Uphopho and Iyanu. They wouldn't let Iyanu give blood, something to do with her just having concluded her monthly cycle but I was made to return to my high couch. This time, three other females (lab technicians) inspected my arms closely, commenting on their smoothness.

I played macho, "I might not have veins but I lift weights daily" (which is true). I knew a little of how Jesus must have felt because I was tempted (from the fear of needles) to jump off the cross of blood donations. "Let this cup pass away from me", I thought. I was still contemplating fleeing the room, knowing I couldn't take saturday's experimentation again, when a male supervisor entered the room. He wasn't impressed by my "smooth" skin. With a yank of my hand, he asked, "What do you mean you cant find veins? Isn't this a vein? Isn't this another?" And in one swift motion, there was a needle embedded in my arm. The blood flowed.

It's beautiful to lift ourselves above the mess life can be sometimes; to do something noble, something worthy. So, give blood donations a thought, brother must help brother. The blood you give may save a life.

When the whisper becomes a scream...

(I get mail from people concerning the "Girl Whisperer" articles published in the Guardian every week. Some are really touching, some leave me open-mouthed. I delete the crazy ones but I kept a few. See below)

my name is phina,plz i wnt to no more about big brother
africa i will like to be one of them.
plz sir mail me buy tomorrow ,dis is my contact
0807...(Phone Number obscured by laspapi. This was sent in response to the article, 'Big Brother is watching you'. The article had a picture of Meryll, the fresh evictee from the reality show)

Subject: my lover (from john ....) Sweet,i love you so mush,try as much as possible to mail me.Or if you want to know me better,you can call this number 0803....Please is very important. (Photos of females placed on the Whisperer page confuse the dim as to the gender of this writer)

Hi Baby Girl,
How are you doing?
I love you baby my name is Emma from Abuja FCT. I came across your photograph in one of your magazines.
I love you so much, Bbay, you are looking cool and sweet.
send me your phone number for further communication.
Get back to me as soon as possible.

Thanks Bye Baby

Emma
0802.......

and then to the insane:

from "Lady Duvine"

Hi Laspapi, I read your blog regularly and I must say I really enjoy it! I also never miss the girl whisperer on sundays. Just read your latest post, you are in luck! I am a thorough bred, anais anais (my favourite perfume) perfumed lady. I ll be at your 3pm show today, would love to meet you, I am assuming you are single, ofcourse.

Lady


This one claimed to have been at my shows but I think I know who the jobless slug is.

from "kiette Peters" kietee@gmail.com i have held back from sending you this mail, becasue i don't know what you will think of me. i have attended some of your shows and i really enjoyed them. i like you a lot, if i can be forward, but i will stop there.
i hate to be rejected, so i wait for a go on signal. can you be chased or are you taken?

laspapi's reply: Intriguing e-mail, Ms. Peters. Why don't you come to another show and introduce yourself after?

Enjoy your weekend.


"kiette Peters" kietee@gmail.com Hello,

Sorry I haven't been here. Would have replied last week, but my system went off, and it just got fixed.

Unless I find a way of coming to the shows alone, I cannot introduce myself. But I will have to explain to my boyfriend why I want to go for the show alone. We live together. He also loved your show, but has been quite busy else we would have come again.
Sometime soon

I couldn't be bothered with the charade anymore so I let the imbecile be.

The Girl Whisperer

as published by

the Sunday Guardian of Sept 23


When Love Can’t Pay The Rent

“Boy, nothing in life is free, that’s why I’m asking you, what can you do for me? I’ve got responsibilities, so I’m looking for a man who’s got some money in his hands... no romance without finance”. The lyrics of a hit song a few years back. Men tend to look at women who demand their men have a certain level of comfort, in a judgemental way, regarding this type of woman as overly material, but the truth is, the giddiest romance will die in the face of continuous battering by financial adversity. There are few love stories that can withstand the assault of having little or no money, of having to scratch and scrounge to live from day to day; year in, year out.

This is not a one-way thing. The reality of the times demands that even women must pull their financial weight in relationships too. Women cannot seek equality in the work place, in politics and social recognition but balk at equality in sharing the financial burdens that face couples. Some females are selective in the issues they want equality in, stepping back from all things monetary. Even though it has been the norm for men to be the hunter-gatherers, the world is rapidly evolving and those who will not bear responsibility, no matter which gender, are quickly left behind. Two are better than one, is what the good book says, and a relationship in which the woman participates, is one that is financially secure.

The idealist might ask, “Isn’t this being too clinical about relationships? Where’s the zing? The head rush? The palpitations of the heart? The cold sweats and tremors that wake you up at night? Where’s the romance that we all live for?” I am afraid that even though those things are important in a relationship, it will not sustain a union.
It’s simple really, one person might make enough for both to scrape along on, but two will make double that.

This isn’t about women (or men) seeking out and marrying millionaires, far from it, but you should only hook up with a guy (or girl) who has potential or the partnership becomes a wasted enterprise. If you have ever gone to bed hungry for whatever reason, without access to food until the next day, you will know the feeling. Now imagine this as a way of life, not sure where the next mortgage payment will come from, or the next car instalment, or the school fees for the kids. Yeah, life can be hard.

The alleys of life are littered with many broken dreams and aspirations that were suffocated at birth, mostly because of having a partner, deliberately or otherwise, plucking the feathers of the other, and preventing the aspiring one from flying. It does not matter what kind of background you’re from, you have a right to decide what kind of future you want. It is legitimate to want to be successful, to want to be comfortable, and if your partner does not see eye to eye with you in that regard, you will have serious issues to deal with. Many people will tell you, they just want to be “okay”, whatever that means. In matters like this, seek clarification so you do not end up with a weight around your neck. As Bill Clinton first said of Monica Lewinsky, “I did not have intercourse with that woman”. It was technically not a lie, because Big Bill’s definition of intercourse apparently did not include whatever he and Monica got up to.

Being “okay” in the financial sense for some might involve a couple of good cars, a comfortable house with their names on the title deeds and a bank account/financial portfolio that make them smile no matter how grey the clouds are. I agree with this. If I haven’t gotten there yet, I’m working my way towards it and my partner had better be too, or one day, I’ll be a grizzled old man, wondering in a daze, “what happened?” as young Turks zip past me.

There are very important aspects to a relationship including emotional security, but we should learn never to forget that finances are important to, and your partner should be one that motivates you in that area as well. Money is not the root of all evil, it is the unbridled lust for, and the desire to obtain it by any means necessary, that can be evil. Instead, look to the term, “money is a defence”. It is.

laspapi's stage play, "Prison Chronicles" was staged at Terra Kulture last night. Among the Theatre@Terra audience were members of the gang,the lawyers- Jide Bello and Temitayo Etomi, (Jide asking me to slash my gate fee so I'd have more people - still trying to figure the pros and cons of that), the blogger- Ore, the gynaecologist and lecturer at Luth- Bose Afolabi, Funmi Iyanda, Susan Eyo-Honesty -Deputy Editor of "City People", Yetunde Allen of Lateral Links and Gboyega Banjo- former GM of the Muson Centre amongst others.

Funmi (who playfully declares herself as my chief groupie, first announced the genius of laspapi to the world many years ago. I would stand by her to the death) discussed with me and some of the gang after the 2nd show as to how we could sustain the momentum we'd gained at Terra.

I've got friends and I'm thankful.

ps- ~mimi~ I remain your chief groupie for life o!