MY PEOPLE SAY--NIGERIAN PROVERB OF THE WEEK

"When the hyena drinks, the dog can only watch."

THIS WEEK IN SAMINAKA--JULY 20 to 26

Tues., June 21, 6 pm SLT. Weekly meeting of Egbe Akowe Writers Group at the new Slates, Scrolls & Sticks, Saminaka's library cum bookstore. Join the group and receive its missives by hitting the Subscribe-o-Matic (doesn't add to group count) at the meeting location http://slurl.com/secondlife/Saminaka/174/194/30 or the Manatee Lookout Palm Wine Joint on Tarkwa Beach. Critique/sharing the first hour, then writing fun afterwards for the lingerers. Prepare to use BenGay--Acu Watanabe will split your sides with her wisecracking!

We had a great first meeting--come even if you haven't written this week and join the discussion and in-place exercises!

Wed., June 22. 6 pm SLT. Opening of the "Timbuktu's Ancient African Universities" slideshow and launching of the African Intellectual Traditions hippobook at Slates, Scrolls & Sticks at http://slurl.com/secondlife/Saminaka/174/194/30

Ongoing for unspecified period. Visit Saminaka's booth at the "Show Me the Green" Expo on the

rooftop of the Museum of the African-American

Experience here: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Saminaka/136/213/28

Ongoing for 3 more weeks. The Middle Passage Experience has been relocated outside Treet.TV's studios. With more prims, it is more powerful than ever! Foliage surrounds the paths you take from freedom to slavery, and evocative sounds reinforce the move from everyday contentment to horror. Make history come alive! At http://slurl.com/secondlife/Northpoint/71/68/23

GREEN AND BLACK

Black and green. If you add red, those are the colors of the Pan-African flag, created in 1920 by Marcus Garvey’s UNIA. Its meaning? Red for the blood that unites all those of African ancestry (which, is, after all, the whole human race) and that spilled in liberation struggles, black for black people, and green for the natural resources and wealth of Africa. Black and “Green” are two colors Luchenpur Darwin wants to put together in Second Life, through his “Show Me the Green” Expo running at the Museum of the African American Experience through July 18. Go to: http://slurl.com/secondlife/SugarHill%20Retreat/24/35/60

Luchenpur Darwin wants to expose the black SL population in particular to ideas about how the planet can be improved through daily choices, as well as activism. The Expo has 15 booths devoted to eco-friendly concepts, as well as others erected by sponsors of the event and the Museum. “My goal is to bring the message of being green to a wider audience,” says Darwin. “The main thrust was to speak to the demographic that does not show up—that being people of color involved in Green. The standard ‘green’ person is a fairly well-educated, so-called white person. Not all of the exhibitors fit that description. We are wanting to expand the discussion.”

Darwin points out that one of the booths, created by the Avatar Action Center, includes information on environmental racism. Their “11 Facts about Environmental Racism” notes that “People of color make up the majority of those living in neighborhoods located within 1.8 miles of the nation’s hazardous waste facilities”—a chilling statistic. They also observe that “racial disparities of color exist in 9 out of 10 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regions,” and that health risks in these hot spots are abnormally high.

Darwin points out that knowledgeable persons of color can make a huge difference through grassroots efforts. Tatia Andel demonstrates this in her booth that showcases Majora Carter. This South Bronx native, whose background was in acting and film, became an environmental activist and consultant, galvanized by the ugliness endemic to the area. In 2001, she founded Sustainable South Bronx, which she headed until 2008. The organization did a complete makeover on an illegal dumping site, turning it into Hunt’s Point Riverside Park, an attractive and much safer environment. Carter, who won a MacArthur “genius grant,” speaks passionately about not only “greening the ghetto,” but training people for “greencollar” jobs. Listen to her inspiring speech here: http://www.ted.com/talks/majora_carter_s_tale_of_urban_renewal.html

Many of the Green Expo booths are sponsored by non-profits, such as Public Policy Virginia or HUMANBE Council, interested in sustainable strategy planning. They cover a gamut of environmentally-friendly topics, from solar power to animal rights, conservation, and recycling. Several are personal efforts. Artemisia Mathy of Africa Live! explores climate change and conservation initiatives, particularly those of African wetlands and mangrove environments. Your fearless reporter has a scattershot booth meant to encourage Westerners and Africans to learn from each others’ green and non-green practices for global improvement. It includes everything from Larry Vass’s digitally-engineered post-Katrina shotgun houses to using worn tires to sole shoes. Luchenpur Darwin himself, as well as fellow Chicagoan Paolo Rousselot, have for-profit real life ventures that they have brought into SL. Darwin, a developer, promotes rl homes that follow guidelines of sustainability, and his Expo exhibit (very professionally done!) explores sensible water practices. Rousselot’s booth showcases his Heat Saver Thermal Shades.

Darwin credits Rousselot with involving him further in bringing “Green” to the forefront. “I came to SL looking to build a virtual model of the RL home I hope to build, and I ended upon Etopia [an eco-minded region]. I told him [Rousselot] what I wanted to do, and he encouraged me.” Rousselot spoke warmly about their interactions. “I've met Luch in RL,” he says. “He is as wonderful and gentle, wise, in Real Life as he is here. I am honored that he is my friend and would do whatever I could--any time, anywhere--to support him, because I know his heart and his desire for a whole and healthy life and planet.”

Certainly Darwin and Museum curator/owner Winn Wellman (who eternally wears the black, red and green) deserve accolades for their efforts. They are not charging exhibitors, and only last night remembered to put out a tip jar. They have put a great deal of persuasion, enthusiasm, time and research into organizing the Expo and shepherding and nudging its exhibitors (well, me, at least) into timely readiness. I asked Darwin if the preparation was formidable. He replied, “Actually this isn’t bad. The grand opening I did for the sustainable home was hair-raising, because I had never done anything like it in SL or RL. I have had a year to form contacts, learn the ropes, and I still listen to Paolo sometimes, too.”

Darwin teamed up with Wellman, admiring his positive efforts on SL. “He had a certain vision,” says Darwin of Wellman, and the collaboration is fruitful. “I had met Winn last year when he had the Black Expo, and then again at the Obama rally he had here. So I brought a friend here to expose them to some of the more positive aspects of SL.” It was a match. Wellman is an enthusiastic proponent of many green-related issues, from the YouTube video he produced about young William Kamkwamba, whose electricity-generating windmill brought new hope to his Malawian village (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1XvqpKvrVs) to his own vegetarian practices and his Expo windmill construction. He personally collared this reporter, bombarding her with facts about the superiority of hemp textiles, till she caved in cowardice and created a hemp jacket for her Expo booth.

It is that kind of passion that allows ecomissionaries to make converts, even amongst the dancing avatars at the Expo’s opening, grooving to the soulful ballads of live performer Zerbie Magic and the dj’ed music that followed. I lassoed one visitor, Warrington Skytower, and was excited to learn he is planning an SL ecofurniture venture, presently confined to XstreetSL, but soon to be in a shop as well. Skytower, a RL civil engineer, says that he has considerable RL experience with green design. He feels his venture into ecofurniture “would be a good opportunity, since I couldn't find that many builders who use eco-friendly materials.” And which eco-friendly material was first on his list? “Well, in terms of fabrics, hemp is indispensible.” Skytower also uses “both bamboo and recycled wood, or sustainable harvested wood, where it’s collected without severely depleting forests. I believe the Sustainable Forestry Council sets guidelines for sustainable wood harvesting.” Skytower noted that formaldehyde is often present in pressed wood and particle board, which can create health hazards (it’s also present in much clothing, the main ingredient in “permanent press”). “The whole idea of sustainable design is to reduce the impact not only on the environment but also to people,” he noted.

While posing as an urban marketer, fruit and vegetables displayed before me, I saw a number of SL notables perusing the exhibits. Puff Klang bought my (adorable!) Green With Envy eco-shoes, with recycled tire soles and bamboo heels, while Indea Vaher joined Skytower, jacmacaire Humby of HUMANBE, and AfricaLive!’s artemisia Mathy in conversation and watermelon after viewing the Saminaka slideshows. The resulting friendly banter and conversation highlighted one of SL’s best features, its abilities to create cross-continental dialogue and create links and bonds through interests.

Darwin’s own interest grew long ago. “We were doing green stuff back in the 80s before they called it green. It was energy efficient uses--but Mr. Reagan set us back 20 years. I was remodeling my first home in the first energy crisis. So insulation and windows that didn’t leak made a lot of sense, so we did what we could do on the limited budget we had.”

With the Expo, Darwin has planted more seeds. He says he likes all the exhibits—“The polar bears are funny but true, the Peak Oil is very sobering, as is the Africa Live, but Saminaka is a lot of fun and Informative, too.” (The Saminaka Compass is dedicated to publishing every pro-Saminaka comment made, even if elicited with a nudge.)

Even the indifferent will find a trip useful, as some freebies are available. As well as many informational tracts, T-shirts of many green hues are available for the taking. Darwin’s Water4Life booth includes a Rivanna Conservation Society pack that combines info cards with some SL landscaping tools, while Mathy’s Africa Live! exhibit has free African textures, an Ndebele house and vases, and even a talking drum from OpenBuilding and OpenCafe. The Avatar Action Center has a carbon goggles HUD, while Coughdrop Little (self-described EcoWarrior) offers free wind turbines in two sizes.

Although July 18 is the official closing date, Darwin points out that really means that visitors will be able to talk with the exhibitors during that week. “The exhibits will remain for a while, so people can still come,” he says. Go and turn Green!

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UNDER THE MANGO TREE--Tamsin Barzane

Saminaka just can’t resist an opportunity to torture prims into an opportunity for exchange, encouragement, and expansion of minds. It was Oliha Yiwama’s idea, after he saw the now-defunct Free African Bookstore in Saminaka’s Nupekwo compound. “Build a library and bookstore,” he nudged. And Artaud Bohemian further nurtured this idea, pointing out that too few people knew about Africa’s rich intellectual traditions, about Sankore and the other universities that once made Mali’s Timbuktu a rich and celebrated center of learning. Feretian String had lots of good ideas and landmarks, and also contributed the library lions for the exterior. Other friends added advice and questions. Complete stranger and now friend, consultant and publisher madddyyy Schnook lobbed some great building materials my way, when he saw me wondering dazed in a shop. The result? Wednesday will see the opening of the Slate, Scroll & Stick, Saminaka’s center for reading, writing, talks and discussions.

Why “Slate, Scroll & Stick”? The “Slate” comes from Koranic educational traditions, which predated colonial schools in many parts of the continent. Using water-based inks, students write their verses and created colorful non-representational illuminations on wooden slates, washing them off at the end of the day. The “Scroll” comes not only from ancient Egyptian practices, but from the ancient Sudan and Ethiopia, where writing traditions are millennia old as well. And the “Stick”? Even those parts of Africa that didn’t have an alphabet often used graphic symbols with specific meanings. Some, like the Ibibio, Efik and Ejagham of Nigeria’s Cross River area, drew them with sticks in the earth as well, conveying messages that might indicate a meeting was scheduled or refer to some other event.

The building (still unfinished as of this writing) will combine a traditional Hausa exterior from Nigeria with wall paintings from Mauretania on the interior. Portraits of notable Nigerian writers and scholars will hang on the walls (with bios nearby in a library book), and a video corner with informative, entertaining videos about Nigeria provides multimedia information. The lecturn currently "speaks" a poem by the late Nigerian poet Christopher Okigbo, and will change regularly.

The Slate, Scroll & Stick has nooks for relaxing, books to read or sit on, and places to think and write. There are library books that contain links to out-of-print volumes (mostly on Nigerian history and culture—we ARE Virtual Nigeria) scanned and available on the Internet, and some non-African tomes (including those that deal with SL content creation) that can be read in-world. The bookshop portion includes both notable Amazon links and inexpensive in-world volumes. Some are my slideshows in a takeaway package, but others will be the products of our new Egbe Akowe writing group.

We had our organizational meeting last week, full of fun and crackling with creativity. We are going to meet on Tuesday evenings at 6pm SLT in the SS&S. Our initial plan is to take turns originating a key word or phrase. Members will write a riff prompted by it during the week—whether poem, a bit of fiction (or hey, a whole novel!), non-fiction, etc.—and turn it in for distribution by the following Monday.

At the meeting, we do two things—share our reactions to what’s been written, and participate in a group in-meeting writing exercise. This might be a round-robin storytelling rampage, a timed poem, or could move in any direction. We had a goodly number of interested parties, but you can still join us—hit the Subscriber at the Manatee Lookout Palm Wine Joint, or the one inside the SS&S itself. It’s a Subscribe-O-Matic, so you don’t have to worry about dropping one of your 25 groups.

OCHL ENTERPRISE--CLICK FOR A LARGER IMAGE!

Read the blog, get an introductory copy of OCHL's GUIDE TO MUSIC AND DANCE IN SL

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Ads! We have an initial special offer for you, whether you are shopkeepers or classified customers! Remember you can advertise your shop, feature an item, or try to sell a transferable item. If your ad has a photo, it costs more. There are discounts for extended runs of the same ad, and lesser discounts if you have constant ads, but they vary from week to week. YOU CAN ALSO USE THIS VENUE TO ADVERTISE RL OBJECTS AND SERVICES; LIST YOUR EBAY OR OTHER SITE AND REACH OUR CUSTOMERS (Tamsin Barzane will never reveal your rl identity to readers). All ad payments are in-world and in lindens. Ads for the coming week should be submitted by noon SLT Wednesday.

Single ad, no photo, one week. maximum 5 Blogger lines: 50L
Single ad, photo, one week. Text maximum 5 Blogger lines: 100L
Single ad recurring, no photo, one month (4 issues). Text maximum 5 Blogger lines: 175L
Single ad recurring, photo, one month (4 issues). Text maximum 5 Blogger lines: 325L
Single ad changing week-to-week, no photo, one month (4 issues). Text maximum 5 Blogger lines. 180L
Single ad changing week-to-week, photo, one month (4 issues). Text maximum 5 Blogger lines. 425L

If you want longer text, more than one photo, or a longer ad run, prices will be adjusted. Contact Tamsin Barzane through inworld notecard or at tbarzane@gmail.com

These are introductory prices--no telling if they'll last more than a month! Get em while you can! As of the morning of July 12, our circulation is at 358--WE GROW DAILY!!

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FROM THE SUITCASE--Oliha Yiwama

Well, Oliha has been having Internet problems in Benin City, Nigeria, so once again I'm snatching his pencil. Since I've been talking to him via phone, I will do my best to convey his frustrations. Things are tough!

Now when I've used cybercafes in Nigeria, I've had fairly good luck. Many of the Lagos ones were lavish, air-conditioned palaces with good connectivity. Even my village on Benin City's outskirts had a pretty good cafe with reasonable hourly rates, though sites with lots of images or Flash inclusions were slow-loading (that cafe had a special all-night bargain rate, intended for teenaged boys' porn access--really!).

Oliha, however, is finding that he has to wait unbearably long periods to even open his email. To download a two-page document with some pics took him over 45 minutes--and then the printer wasn't able to deliver before NEPA took light (i.e., the power went off). And he's been through nearly five days of this struggle--even getting the Google main page has been a tortoise-like process. While the cyberistas assure him that this is not constant, that there's been a recent connectivity problem, that info has been cold comfort.

Did I need to mention to him that through SL I have found out that both Senegal and little Mauritius are high-speed enough to allow their African users to enter Second Life? Or that in next-door Benin Republic, SL resident and Saminaka supporter Bafana Beaumont (on a holiday at home in Cotonou) can get on SL, even if he can't move? Perhaps not--I think I heard his teeth grinding. Why can't Africa's most populated and one of its richest countries get good broadband service? Cables are being laid down the East African coast, and that region will soon be enjoying. Seems a sin and a shame. How many day's oil production would a steady endeavor need for funding?

--Tamsin Barzane for Oliha

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*{Kiko Life}* Massive 40% Off Moving Sale! ALL LOCATIONS!!

We're moving our mainstore, and had so much fun with our 48-hour Fire sale, we're EXTENDING IT BIG TIME! MASSIVE 40% reduction on ALL our skins/makeups, shapes and complete avatar packages for both MEN AND WOMEN @ all our locations! Buy fatpack cards, and get even MORE great deals! Special gift for the person who 'stocks up the most'! :) (You will love it!)

HAWKING IN THE MARKET--SAMINAKA COMMERCIAL NEWS

This past week Saminaka's been concentrating on altruistic ventures. But there are still developments on the commercial front!

***Osuntomi Melendez of Saminaka's Kiko Life, we applaud your progress! Your main store did so well at your homestead that you are about to open a newer and even more splendid version on a full-prim sim! Congratulations! Readers, there will be new skins and further treats ahead at Kiko's!

***Yes, the stalls are still coming up on Saminaka, as are more African men's clothes--next week, perhaps?

***There IS a new commercial venture on Saminaka this week--the bookstore aspect of Slates, Scrolls & Sticks is selling books by Tamsin Barzane, as well as featured Amazon titles

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Saminaka's gone green! Right now these items--the bamboo cloth dress, the shoes with recycled tire soles and bamboo sole, and the hemp jacket, as well as a green cap--are specially priced and available only at the "Show Me the Green" Expo athttp://slurl.com/secondlife/SugarHill%20Retreat/24/35/60 Later the shoes will be at Cinnamon Brigade, the clothes at Tropicality.

WETIN BE DAT? Pidgin English phrase of the week

"Na you sabi."

"That's your business, not mine--but you might want to rethink it!"

MY PEOPLE SAY--NIGERIAN PROVERB OF THE WEEK

"If a snake fails to show its venom, children will use it to tie firewood." Igbo proverb


Sometimes it's necessary to be aggressive to defend one's abilities and capabilities.

THIS WEEK IN SAMINAKA--JULY 12 to 18

TUESDAY, JULY 13, 6pm SLT. Weekly meeting of Egbe Akowe Writers Group at the new (and probably still unfinished till its Wednesday opening) Slates, Scrolls & Sticks, Saminaka's library cum bookstore. Join the group and receive its missives by hitting the Subscribe-o-Matic (doesn't add to group count) at the meeting location http://slurl.com/secondlife/Saminaka/174/194/30 or the Manatee Lookout Palm Wine Joint on Tarkwa Beach. Critique/sharing the first hour, then writing fun afterwards for the lingerers. Prepare to use BenGay--Acu Watanabe will split your sides with her wisecracking!



WEDNESDAY, JULY 14, 6pm SLT Official opening of States, Scrolls & Sticks, the first African library/bookstore on SL! Nigerian books, SL books, RL books, cozy spots to talk to friends or watch videos about Nigerian culture--oh, yes, eventually other African countries, too. What will the opening entail? Well, maybe even non Writers Group members will receive a coveted, resizable cap textured with a manuscript from the Gambia! http://slurl.com/secondlife/Saminaka/174/194/30



ONGOING UNTIL JULY 19 Saminaka's first photo contest is underway and there's still plenty of time to participate. Take a photo on Saminaka of yourself, a friend, an animal, a bit of landscape, and post it on the photo board. Then invite your friends to come vote for you! The grand prize winner receives 2000L cash, five free skins from Kiko Life, a photo session with spirit Wingtips, and an assortment of other goodies from Saminaka shops. And every photographer who participates gets at least ONE item currently sold for over 200L. So everyone's a winner! Some beautiful photos up--come and see and add your own. At http://slurl.com/secondlife/Saminaka/136/213/28


ONGOING UNTIL JULY 18 The Saminaka booth at the "Show Me the Green" Expo highlights potential cooperation between Africa and the West, as well as plenty of info about sustainable practices and a free T-shirt, as well as specially-priced products: adorable eco shoes, a green cap, a sexxxy bamboo cloth outfit, and a lovely hemp jacket. The Expo has 15 booths extolling sustainability--well worth a visit! Go to http://slurl.com/secondlife/Saminaka/136/213/28


MIDDLE PASSAGE EXPERIENCE heldover at new venue. Because of Treet.TV's interest in the Middle Passage Experience, it is going to be displayed on their grounds for another month. See it or send your friends to this new venue: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Northpoint/71/68/23