Romance Meets Life

The Desperate Housewives Series Set For An African Adaptation By EbonyLife TV?
New Mom Kate Middleton Plays Volleyball in Platform Wedges in Support of SportsAid Charity
A Woman Who Lost Her Pregnancy Poisoned Her Friends So They Would Miscarry Too
Blast From the Past - Fela Anikulapo Kuti and First Wife Taylor Remilekun
Susan Peters Looks Great in Idoma Traditional Wear
Short Story - Hotel Rooms and Showers and Sneaking Around Like In a Cheap Movie
Movie Trailers - Finding Love With Kiki Omeili, Uru Eke, Mofe Duncan and Denrele Edun
What Details of Your Cell Phone Do You Share With Your Significant Other?
Ini Edo in Ekaette Goes to School - Nollywood's Fixation on Adults in Kid Uniforms
Quote of the Day - Life is About Finding People Who Understand You

The Desperate Housewives Series Set For An African Adaptation By EbonyLife TV?

Posted: 18 Oct 2013 04:01 PM PDT

So, an "African version" of Desperate Housewives – the American comedy/drama series - is currently in development, for a summer 2014 debut. The show is being brought to Nigeria by EbonyLife TV. The new show will feature an African cast of new and established talents and will be filmed in Lagos, Nigeria, at Adiva Estates, a gated development in Lekki. This location has been identified as Africa's own "Wisteria Lane"

Interesting I say, because I am one of the biggest fans of Desperate Housewives. The original ABC TV series followed the dramatic lives of a group of women, over a 13-year period, and 8 seasons, as seen through the eyes of a dead neighbor who committed suicide in the very first episode.

I'll certainly be looking forward to seeing the actresses, actors and new talent that the Nigerian/African show will throw up.

Since the US premiere of the show, five different versions of "Desperate Housewives" have been produced around the world, Turkish, Argentinean, Colombian/Ecuadorian, U.S. Hispanic, and a Brazilian version.

"We are going to make it relevant, number one, by using local talent — talent that our viewers will know and love; two, we are going to work with local stylists, local fashion designers, local interior designers, making it wholly immersed in African culture, fashion and music." said Mo Abudu, CEO and Executive Chairman, EbonyLife TV.

"We are going to give the stories an African flavor. We will localize it, because there's nothing that the West has that Africa doesn't have: we love, we fight, we kiss, we make up. We like all the good things in life. There's good and there's evil globally... The series spoke universally to women and to men, about relationships, marriage and bringing up children. All those stories are there. And Africans are the original storytellers. Your grandparents would sit you down at night and tell you tales. We love a good story."

According to the EbonyLife TV press release, the production of the Nigerian version will closely follow the format and storylines of the original US version, but with a uniquely Nigerian flavour.

To ensure the series retains its international appeal but with an African soul, EbonyLife TV will be working with DO.ii designs and Agatha Interiors on furniture design for the Desperate Housewives Africa sets. On dressing of talent, EbonyLife TV will be partnering with stylist Veronica of Vane-Style and major Nigerian designers to include Bridget Awosika, Ella & Gabby, Jewel By Lisa, Kareema Mak, Lanre Da Silva, Meena, Me-Li, Needle Point, Odio Mimonet, Phunkafrique, Toju Foyeh, etcetera.

One question I have is, can you really translate the storylines to African sensibilties? Some of them were quite wacky, even for America - the jails, the mental hospitals, the glamour modelling, online shenanigans, etc, lol.

What do you think of the idea of the show?

New Mom Kate Middleton Plays Volleyball in Platform Wedges in Support of SportsAid Charity

Posted: 18 Oct 2013 03:02 PM PDT

Kate Middleton, , in a solo outing while leaving her baby son, George with dad, Prince William, attended an event in her role as patron of the charity SportsAid, a charity which supports young athletes at the start of their careers. The duchess of Cambridge looked trim and fashionable in skinny jeans and a striped top with a navy jacket, and completed the outfit in navy platform wedges. What was amazing is that Kate played volleyball in those platforms too. And that flat tummy! See more pics below...

A Woman Who Lost Her Pregnancy Poisoned Her Friends So They Would Miscarry Too

Posted: 18 Oct 2013 05:09 PM PDT

This is the saddest news I've read in a while, it's just so depressing. Yes I know she was depressed, but it still seems to calculated and evil! I think it is murder and the four months she got is not equal to her crime. Just think that she planned to do this and actually went ahead to poison her supposed friend and sister-in-law? When next she is depressed about something else, will she kill again?

From DailyMail

Secretary Angela Maier, 26, (pictured above) was desperate to have a baby of her own but suffered three miscarriages. The depressed woman was consumed with jealousy when she then learned that her sister-in-law and best friend were pregnant.

Maier told a court in Klagenfurt, Austria: 'I couldn't stand the thought of them having babies who would be growing up when mine was dead. Mine should have been with them as well, but instead mine died while theirs went on.'

She was suffering from depression as a result of her loss and the sight of her friend's impending births. The woman cruelly poisoned the expectant mothers' drinks with medicine she was prescribed after her miscarriage.

Angela in front of the court as she told them she 'couldn't stand the thought' of the friends having children
The court heard how the woman and her best friend had become pregnant at the same time, and had been shopping for baby clothes and planning together.

The friend said: 'I asked for a glass of water, and she said she had a special drink for pregnant women, that she didn't need any more. A short while later I started to bleed, and then I lost the baby. When I found out what she had done, I wrote back and told her she was a murderer. I can't forgive her.'

Two months later she invited her sister-in-law to visit and did the same thing again, mixing the medicine into her hot chocolate, and then 'watched me as I drank it', the victim told the court.

The court heard it led to both pregnant women suffering miscarriages. Maier went on to have a baby of her own, and now has a three-year-old daughter.

Eaten up with guilt at what she had done, and in the end she had written to both women to confess two years later after she learned that both were once again pregnant.

She was sentenced by the court to 18 months in prison, with 14 suspended, after the court ruled that she was psychologically sound although she had, it accepted, been suffering from depression.
Judge Michaela Sanin said: 'You maliciously took the lives of two unborn babies.'

Blast From the Past - Fela Anikulapo Kuti and First Wife Taylor Remilekun

Posted: 18 Oct 2013 02:43 PM PDT

Fela Anikulapo-Kuti died in 1997 at 58, but his music and legacy are enduring, and a celebration of his life and music is celebrated around his birthday, October 15 every year. In the spirit of Felabration, I am sharing picture of Fela and his first wife, Taylor Remilekun Ransome Kuti. Remi was the mother of his three oldest children, Yeni, Femi and Sola, who are the major pushers of Fela's legacy in Nigeria and beyond.

Susan Peters Looks Great in Idoma Traditional Wear

Posted: 18 Oct 2013 11:05 AM PDT

Actress Susan Peters shared this picture of her in a traditional Idoma attire with the caption hinting that she was the "Ochanya Ke Idoma". I don't know exactly what that means, maybe she's been titled in her community. But she sure looks great in the outfit.

Short Story - Hotel Rooms and Showers and Sneaking Around Like In a Cheap Movie

Posted: 18 Oct 2013 11:22 AM PDT

By Sifa Asani Gowon

Hand in his thick, wavy hair, he glared at his reflection in the hotel bathroom and hazel eyes stared back, vacant. Steam from the shower fogged up the mirror and ran down in rivulets, making his image appear as distorted as he felt.

Look at you. Hotel rooms and showers and sneaking around like in some sleazy, cheap movie.

He heard a sound from the adjoining room. She was dressing up, probably leaving. He really didn't want to see or talk to her but he had to. Different thoughts swirled in his head, incoherent words and sentences that didn't make sense.

'…You have broken the promise to the wife you married when you were young…'

From the cellars of his memory, words with a voice. He blinked. That voice had been almost audible. He pulled the towel around his waist and took a deep breath. He had to do this.

She looked up as he entered, and her beauty hit him, as it always did, the permanent half-smile, wide brown eyes that could burn with passion and also freeze in calculation, a body that begged to be explored.

Desire and disgust warred in him roiling up nausea, but he swallowed the bile, resisting the urge to turn away from her. She continued to stare, oblivious to his internal war.

'This will not happen again,' he said.

Her half-smile widened, one eyebrow cocked before she winked and left the room. He'd said the exact words the previous time…and the time before that.

He dressed quickly in clothing that had been carelessly discarded earlier. The hum in his ears was now a steady throb. He glanced at his watch. 8 p.m. Eight years. Three kids.

'She was your partner and you have broken your promise to her…'

Jumbled words untied enough again to form a statement in his head. His breath came in short puffs, as though there wasn't enough air. He left the room without a backward glance.

Driving home, he wondered not for the first time how he let himself fall into this clichéd existence. He had imagined he was stronger, had more backbone.

And that hotel room wasn't about love. He knew love, recognized love and had a love, and he knew the dizzying heights he had reached with his love.

He could almost taste her lips, smell her hair and feel the soft curls on his fingertips. He could see her eyes filled with fire, and could also imagine them fill with pain and tears if she found out.

His phone vibrated in his pocket and he pulled it out. One look at the screen brought back the guilt and he rejected the call.
She tried again. Again he hung up. At the third try, he uttered a foul word and tossed the phone out of the window in a haze of rage. The rear-view mirror showed it shatter on the road before another car crushed what remained.

'…although you promised before God you would be faithful to her.'

He let out a groan through gritted his teeth as he shook his head. He knew these words; he knew that voice. He turned on the radio to drown it out and the soulful voice of Mary J Blige floated out:

'Stay down…we're almost to the very best part… One day we'll look back on this…'

He turned the radio off, fighting the sudden constriction in his throat, blinking back tears. It would seem the Source was not averse to using lyrics from an R&B song to pass a message. He swore, his thoughts as twisted as his epithets.

He slowed down as his house appeared. He couldn't even form an adequate lie to tell, an excuse. He supposed it didn't really matter at this point. He parked in the driveway and got out of the car.

It was 9 pm and most of the lights in the house were out when he turned the doorknob and stepped in. A soft voice stopped him in his tracks as he started toward the staircase.

'Late night at work?'

He couldn't turn to face her, but mumbled in affirmation, feeling sick. Another couple of steps and her voice stopped him again, a pained whisper.

'When did I stop being enough for you?'

He slowly turned. And what he saw would haunt him for the rest of his life. She stood with her shoulders slumped, tears of defeat and betrayal glistening in her eyes like jewels. In that instant he realized that she knew. She had always known.

_______________
Sifa Asani Gowon is an incurable romantic who spends her time juggling her writing, school 'runs' and a small baking business. Her first novel, 'Playing by Her Rules', is scheduled to be published soon. She lives in Nigeria with her husband and children.

www.sifushka.blogspot.com

Movie Trailers - Finding Love With Kiki Omeili, Uru Eke, Mofe Duncan and Denrele Edun

Posted: 18 Oct 2013 02:44 PM PDT

Finding Love is a romantic comedy based on challenges and flaws in relationships, the perils of dating that those in search of a soul mate should avoid at all cost. The story focuses on women's desperation in search of true love, hoping it leads to marriage, but they end up being deceived and abused emotionally. The stories are narrated by an radio host who shares his opinion on the various love issues. See the trailer below...

What Details of Your Cell Phone Do You Share With Your Significant Other?

Posted: 18 Oct 2013 11:23 AM PDT

This question is from a reader, she wanted me to share a post on love and mobile phones, which when she brought up the topic in a class group, the debate lasted about 6hrs! So what details of your phone are you willing to share with your boyfriend, girlfriend, partner, or better half? Will you give them your password? Will you allow them to use it to browse, chat, send a text, make a call?

Meena said in her mail, "For me, the height of my love for someone is sharing. This might be my life's goals, dreams and my history. It also gets to the point of intimacy. But I am amazed that in today's world, we can share our lives with someone but the mobile phone is a no go area. What's with the mobile phone?"

Let's discuss, and also vote by the right.

Ini Edo in Ekaette Goes to School - Nollywood's Fixation on Adults in Kid Uniforms

Posted: 18 Oct 2013 07:53 AM PDT

I did a double-take when I came across this picture of Ini Edo in uniform on Instagram. My first thought that it was a flash back picture was dashed when I read the caption which goes, "Ekaette goes to school#movie title#keep a date#my life, ur entertainment". Seriously, seriously? It hasn't escaped me that Funke Akindele and Nkem Owoh have also acted roles that called for them to be primary school children, same as Mercy Johnson and Saka. Now Ini Edo

I have to ask, what is the fascination with seeing these grown men and women in primary school uniforms?

I can understand actors acting secondary school roles that tie back to them as adults but that only holds water in very few cases when the actor is still in their late teens or early twenties. In your thirties and forties, even your secondary school self needs a much younger actor to be believable. Not to talk about primary school roles that require us to see you in uniform.

And in all the movies, it seems there's always a comedic element involved. Is it that Nigerians like seeing their rich actors make fools of themselves as kids, or that we think a child's life of going to school and wearing uniforms is funny?

More disturbing, is it that our actors and movie producers are stuck at that stage of their lives? Or does this speak more to the audience? Is this really what the Nigerian movie watching audience wants?

Are these movies for children or adults? What are the themes or morals of these stories, if any?