A person is secure when they have two core convictions in place: That something belongs to them That it won’t be taken away without their permission. When either of these convictions is shaky, we have what I call “ownership uncertainty”, which is what leads to the feeling we know as insecurity. This uncertainty can often […]
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“Black Panther” raises big questions about identity & loyalty
How the hit movie proves so effective Killmonger facing off with T’Challa: Who are you and what are you loyal to? Black Panther confronted me with two big questions I find simultaneously longstanding and fresh. The best stories are those that continue long after the last page has turned or credits have rolled. But even among […]
I read 57 books in 2017: here’s my top reads
And how I categorise my reading So in 2017 I finished 57 books across 3 broad categories of reading. (I say finished because there was another 20 plus I left unfinished either out of disinterest or something else catching my attention — more on that in a bit.) I didn’t feel like that was a whole lot (I’d […]
Crickets
Flash Fiction The knock woke Bankole, although he didn’t realise at first, while he lay still in the silence that was breeched only by the screech of crickets. Then he heard it, and he knew what had awoken him: a single knock, like that of someone afraid that someone would actually answer. “Bankole?” A whisper. […]
A Nigerian superhero tale is born
My thoughts on trailer for the “Dawn of Thunder” Wow. I really, really, really liked this retelling of the story of the Yoruba god of thunder, Sango (pronounced, “Shawn-go,” by the way). I thought the animation and 3D were a little choppy, but at least one person has disagreed with me and I don’t 100% trust […]
Growing up as a nerdy-ish kid
…and discovering a superpower, and how to make space (This isn’t me, of course, nor did I have the glasses most of the time, really, but whatever.) I grew up loving books. I read every chance I got. I read while walking on the road, when I did house chores and during classes in school. In […]
Don’t eat food you’re not done cooking
(Hint: it’s about more than just food.) A number of people I know who like cooking also don’t like to nibble at the food while they’re cooking it. They taste it, of course, since they need to know that it’s actually okay. But the people I’m talking about, who’d rather not go nibbling at it typically […]
Why you should stop waiting for the “right time”
A wake up call What you need and what you prefer are often not the same thing. That’s not a problem. And you know that already, anyway. The problem is when we confuse the two. You need to study, or work. You would prefer to eat, or sleep. In such cases, it’s easy to tell which is […]
How daily writing is like daily…cooking
Learnings from 18,074 words in 31 days My friend, the talented (and now prolific) Orisirisi, set out in 2016 to achieve (what was, to me at least) a feat—and achieved it, and inspired by her example, I decided to do something I’ve wanted to do for years… Write every single day. Actually, what she did in 2016, […]
How exactly is ours a better world?
Thoughts on 21st-century human behaviour (Photo: Elliott Engelmann) Today I heard about two girls in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city, who went out yesterday and haven’t been heard from since. Earlier in the week, I read this BBC article from last year on child abduction in the UK. Carried out by teenagers, no less. Just around […]