Time People Birthday Musings

Image courtesy of Zcache

How does one explain all the madness in this universe and life's amazing journey? Just as one thinks about surviving the hostile environment of the world, time equally flies at the same time with a hub of global issues, grand and small; and a crablike personal problems that spreads all over.

I must admit, I am thankful to God for coming that far and able to reflect on the past which happens to have been the backbone of survival and engagement, and which also could always be traced from the strength that I have applied to keep on keeping on -- taking it easy and moving on despite all the battle wounds. life is beautiful and the best out of it is knowing one's value and determining what one's contribution to creation would be, depending on the path followed.

The last few months, I have been wondering what would one say about playing some roles in society and how does that tell about the person in particular. Would it be mid-life crisis, old age or just beginning, since life now starts at 60? Well, my mid-life crisis started long, long time ago and I am still in the trenches trying to figure the whole thing out.

Every being, without a doubt, has contributed one way or the other to the functioning of society. When you make someone laugh, that's a contribution and when you make someone upset, that is also a contribution. Life is a journey as every beginning has an end. And like any journey, sometimes it ends well and sometimes it ends on a sad note. Nevertheless, there is a comedy in all of us.

So, as it goes, I am just glad to be keeping on and grateful my well-wishers did check to see how I'm doing.

First on board was my childhood buddy, Eugene Onyeji, who had called me on Sunday, September 13, reminding me from his Beaumont, Texas home that my birthday is around the corner and that life goes on meaning we must always do the best no matter what the situation is. I had done everything with Eugene growing up on the streets of Accra in the company of our Ghanaian fellas and homeboys, John Bull, John Satorji, Hillary "Ahidjo" Akabuilo, Mamma Sani, Zachary, Haruna, Emmanuel while playing double dutch and the tap of fine leather on the playgrounds of Ruga Park by Kanda Estate. I vividly remember the times. Eugene and I spoke at length when he called me on that Sunday morning of September 13. We talked about the days of the Roman films of the sword and scandal 60s starring Mark Forest in "Goliath and the Dragon," "Hercules against the Barbarians," "Hercules on Chain," and "Maciste." We talked about the tv movies and series--Bonanza, The Lone Ranger and High Chaparral. We also talked about the folks in Accra we idolized.

Among our discourses generated a whole lot of the past. Eugene had left the shores of Accra immediately following the end of Yakubu Gowon's genocidal campaign against the Igbo nation. He had settled in Lagos and had enrolled at St. Gregory College, Obalende, with his older sibling, Theodore. I arrived "Nigeria" much later on and was catapulted to my native Amazano to learn more about my cultural heritage and of course the significance of my native tongue which I grabbed before anybody knew what was going on. It was a wonderful experience, and for that, I am very thankful to my parents who made it possible my homeward bound for culture and a much, much better understanding of my forebears.

But that was not all. I learned. I met my cousins from both sides. The matrilineal and patrilineal descent. A family and culture being an entity. And leaving the city everything changed.

The village and the villagers becoming home. The egwu onwa, moonlight plays and the joy of culture being whole and not parts; that culture is indeed an entity and cannot be separated. The joyous festivities of Oghu Festival coupled with the enduring masquerades. The trek to the stream to fetch some water.

The learning of the pogrom and displaced persons.The fact that the pogrom was built on coercion and theft and on a propaganda that led to the abandoned property; and a deliberate rape on Igbo treasures and the more insiduous measure of a regime that justified the slaughter of infants, women and children. And so it goes.

And that's some part of history which makes the rounds as time passes for we are where we live based on our neigborhoods. I don't buy that very concept sometimes because there are many things to it even though where you live speaks volumes about what you eat, drink, drive and even the way you think. When ghetto kids move to the posh bedroom communities they will still act ghetto; just like when the white trash leaves the inner-city for the blue blood estate -- nothing will change as they will still act trashy. Like me dining at Lola's on Fairfax in West Hollywood which I did some few days ago, doesn't really stop me from my regular ofe olugbo, and the varieties of meat and dry fish that comes along with it at the various African eateries on the Southside. From my humble viewpoint, the blue blood estates, the bedroom communities and the inner-city ghettos are all the same depending on the way you carry yourself.

And for all you folks who kept record of my birthday and sending me all the wishes I say thank you and also wish you the best. For Eugene and speaking with Eugene Jr., he made my day with a thrilling fun. For those who think we are in competition, just drop it for life is too short. For all the airheads, never mind, we're all in the same boat. Let's keep chilling for life is too beautiful with the best yet to come, for sure!

Ain't time flying?!

Checking My Instincts

The past week had too many drama from Obamanian Washington politics and stimulus plan to the International Criminal Court call for Sudanese President Omar Hassan Ahmed Bashir's arrest for crimes against humanity. The funny thing is the Sudanese president has decried ICC arrest warrant saying "We defeated them in the 19th centuru. We defeated them in the 20th century. And we will defeat them in the 21st century....This is the new Sudan, raising its voice against hegemony to tell colonialists: we will not kneel."

Soon you will begin to kneel for the blood of innocent people that is now on your head.

What else am I thinking? Ok, I got it. Yes, The Ambrose Ehirim Files website will soon be popping up and it's going to be a whole lot of goodies, I mean everything practical from sports to comedy and from politics to religion. Also, from Hollywood to Nollywood, we will bring it all to you in your face. That's some good signs that we are not backing up from cyber space. And, on the ground, a news magazine will soon be on the news stands which also will adrress a whole lot in our endeavors, and as usual, politics and all the strange bedfellows that comes along with it.

Talking about websites and creating one, and becoming a web designer, and knowing all the nuts and bolts necessary in popping it up like any regular one out there, and not Mickey Mouse, I have learned some tecniques I did not know I had already known. And the technique is just simple because by the time I hired a web consultant to start out a plan to put all these I'm not mentioning it together, the gist and breakdown had me wondering. There are too many scams out there, believe it or not. But anyway, to cut this long story short, the whole thing has to do with some petty stuff. Stuff like SEO (search engine optimization), MODBC (Management of online business campaigns), KR (keyword research), hosting, redirects, error pages, use of java script and other website developments techniques. And the web consultant is killing me. T^hat's right, he is killing me.

You see why I'm now on my own to figure things all out just by myself?

The weekend wasn't bad at all. I had to hang out with jazz singer Rita Edmond for a minute and she "cannot wait" to see me pop up at her scheduled performance at the Seabird Jazz Lounge in Long Beach, California on March 14 to slam her "Sketches of a Dream" CD in your face. Some moments of cool jazz would not be bad at all and I know a whole lot of goodies will be smoking knowing Long Beach for its "coastal flames."

What's going on with these WOWOWOW women? Why are women running the show in every corner that one pops up? See how women on the web can change all that? Don't get me wrong. I think it's a good stuff on many grounds. Women make good managers. Women can endure. Women brought "badass" guys like me into this world. So why shouldn't we be thankful and grateful to all that they have done for us? So the women at WOWOWOW keep shooting it straight gurls and I have just begun to like your style. Check the WOWOWOW out and see how these women are busy gossipping. Just kidding!

What else happened? Okay, I was at Lola's in Hollywood then popped up for some jam sessions at Leirmert Park to watch Najite and his crew beat the drums. Najite was the Chief Priest Fela Kuti's showman back in the day at the Shrine when the wee hours was like day. And the jam at the "Black Township" grooved until dark.

Besides that, nothing much happened save for it's a new week in a Spring forward and you know what that is. Now, I'm done with checking my instincts.

Happy Hour @ Lola's

I have not written about eating out in a while now, and as of last night, I had a good one with a friend. We had talked about where to hang out and eat some good food from one of Hollywood's restaurants and bars. My friend had asked me what was my favorite restaurants which is really the question being asked every now and then for those that frequent the pubs. To be precise, I have no particular or favorite restaurant. It all depends on my mood and where I'm hanging out at a particular time of the day or night.

But in this case, I landed at Lola's located at 945 North Fairfax Avenue in West Hollywood. While driving on Fairfax and heading along the Wilshire Corridor on Miracle Mile, the atmosphere changed and the smell of Hollywood began to surface along Fairfax stretching to the home of the unholy and all that Hollywood is known for -- I mean, the night life, the stars and the wannabes -- you know what I'm talking about.

Anyways, at Lola, as we landed and as usual, we were offered a table with the gesture of the waitress telling us 'the table is yours for the evening,' making us feel indulged. That was a good gesture, isn't it?

My friend had requested a glass of French Martini, a signal Lola's was the original home of French and apple martinis. Now I know why there are too many martini freaks in Hollywood. I ordered some appetizers to make my body and soul one. I had a bowl of sauteed calamari with beans, corn and asparagus in a shell to start the evening of pub-crawling around town. While sipping that strong martini, my friend ordered cornmeal crusted fry oyster with lemon aioli and steamed rice on the side. I ordered my regular drink -- two shots of cognac.

The evening had just begun.

As we sat joyously eating and drinking, we talked about a whole lot of stuff. We mentioned the Jam in Atlanta on Saturday, November 1st, which will make Mt Zion Parkway look like the carnivals on Hollywood Boulevard. We talked about how death had taken away some of our finest musicians and songwriters -- Isaac Hayes, Levi Stubbs and Norman Whitfield.

In fact, we mentioned the days of Motown and how Berry Gordy Jr. built that great empire that produced The Jacksons, Temptations, Undisputed Truth, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross & The Supremes, Smokey Robinson and many others.

At Lola's, it was not a night of trick or treat. It was a night of hanging out and the earlier you go the better chances you would have to grab one of the Leopard print couches on the front.

I loved it and it was just fun!