Passing......

Passing from Valo Photography on Vimeo.

This beautifully shot video reminds us that Valentine's Day is just around the corner. So cute. Although following someone around town all day is usually pretty weird, this guy looks painfully shy and sweet. It was shot all in the Riverwest neighborhood in Milwaukee by a collection of MKE locals as part of the 2¢MKE 2nd annual launch party. I'm going to stop by and check it out.

Desk Work

I'm dedicating Thursday afternoon to desk work and homework. So I leave you with the latest deskwork-themed stuff I am digging. This is what a week's worth of internet-fueled procrastination gets you.

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TV night: The State of the Union

Will you be watching tonight? I'm all excited so I'm sharing this video above to get you excited, too. The State of the Union is like the Academy Awards for Political junkies. It's a lot of fanfare but I am curious to hear what is at the top of the agenda, what he says about partisan rhetoric and if he'll jump on his 2012 campaign. And I want to see what Michelle is wearing.

On a side note, I filled out the Secret Service form today to hopefully arrange a White House tour next month. OMG!

Game On!

The championship game is on Fox, the Packers are up, and fingers are crossed. Go Pack!

I want this shirt from Junk Food Clothing if they go to the Superbowl. Holla!

These look warm.

Geier gloves sold by Strato

Milwaukee Faves: Coming Home

photo: Window Seat
I love flying into Mitchell International and being greeted by this sign......

When I get travel-antsy, I browse the travel supply virtual aisles on Flight001 and then hop over to their blog, Window Seat, to look at the traveler-submitted photos. One from Milwaukee popped up!

Reindeer games

nikolinelr

The weather in Milwaukee is more arctic than midwest this week. When the windchill drops to -25˚F, I start to forget where I am.

Santa, is that you?

Can't stop listening to: Acrylics

This song by the band Acrylics ain't too shabby. I'm trying to get into some of their other songs, but I'm a little distracted by the girl's Pat Benatar look and sound. Either way, throw in a random lapsteel, good lead vocals with an 80's vibe and I'm pretty much sold.

Pictures: Liberia and Ghana

University of Liberia Radio. Monrovia, Liberia

Downtown Monrovia, Liberia

Bomi County, Liberia

Bella Roma. Ossu, Ghana

Cape Hotel. Monrovia, Liberia

Bomi County, Liberia

Sinkor neighborhood. Monrovia, Liberia

Monrovia, Liberia

Cape Coast, Ghana

Cape Coast, Ghana



Long time, no see. I'm finally stateside and back online, so Cream City and Sugar can return to regular programming. Here are a few pictures updates to round out the Africa posts as I get settled back into life in Milwaukee. The 5 inches of snow today really helped.

Can't wait to get back into the swing of things and see what I missed here at home.

See you tomorrow.

Ghananian market baskets

source

We arrived back in Ghana last night after a very loooong evening due to some flight problems and consequently everyone eating some questionable airport food that is not boding well. But alas, we made it and finally went to the market I have been anxiously waiting. Getting a Bolga basket in Ghana has been at the top of my Travel Checklist for a while now.

Bolga baskets get their name from the area in Ghana in which they are made, Bolgatanga, in the upper east region. The baskets are hand-woven, commonly using a checkerboard pattern or triangular pattern with dyed colorful straw. If you bought a medium large basket in Bolgatanga, it would cost about $2USD. I paid $13, mostly because I was too tired to dicker anymore. Anyways, these baskets are incredibly durable because of their thick weaving and leather handle. They also bend or collapse to be more compact when traveling or packing in a suitcase. I bought two, one for the living room as a catch-all and the other by the back door for mittens and scarves.

Here are some other pictures......




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Chalkboard News

source: herwigphoto
A few years ago, I saw an article about a guy in post-war Liberia that was writing out the daily news on a large chalkboard in his impoverished community. We're a couple of news junkies at our house, so I loved it. Nine times out of ten, CNN or MSNBC is on the tv at the same time NPR is on in the background. In post-war Liberia, there were no news agencies left, no radio stations. Much of the immediate local news was distributed by the UN. The chalkboard, called The Daily Talk, became a way of dispersing news for his community. Being informed of local news was seen as a human right. I fell in love with the story back then and it's amazing to have seen it first hand this week. I took some photos, but I have misplaced my camera cord so I can't upload them. So, in the meantime, here are some others.

herwigphoto

President Sirleaf

Before the trip, our recommended reading was this memoir, "This Child Will Be Great" written by the current Liberian President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. She chronicles her life through many struggles, protests, imprisonments, war, and strife to finally becoming Africa's first female president. The story is just inspiring. The book also is a good primer for Liberian politics and what's going on over here. Off to the embassy for another day.

Photos will be coming--I can't find my USB cord. Oh well.

Not quite the Polar Bear Plunge

I think everyone in Ghana was at Labadi beach yesterday. There had to have been a thousand people, all bobbing in the waves as one solid mass. This picture doesn't capture it all. I just watched, but didn't join them. I preferred the quieter more pristine end of the beach to swim, but was soon called out by the lifeguard and told to go join the swarm he was guarding. So back the lounge chair I went and in went my earbuds--tanning at the beach on New Years Eve, rather than braving the arctic ice. Props to all those that did, though.