Chika Ike's African Diva Reality TV Show S1 Ep1

Okay, having watched through it I think I want to make reviews or video reactions to these episodes. I'll start here.

1. I can understand why she titled it African Diva because most Nigerians, and other Africans, often refer to their countries as Africa. "I'm from Africa...I'm going back to Africa," etc. A more fitting name would be something along the lines of Bad Girls Club Naija edition which brings me to our lovely Isio De-laVega's post. I nominate Naija BABELs (Baddest Babes Ever Liveth). I will be tagging my comments #chikaike. I cannot bring myself to call it African Diva when most of the women are Nigerian.

2. Sahhnnnn....I didn't know Chika was all about culture and I love her for this. From the all-women dance group at the beginning of this video to the mansion decorated with traditional artifacts, Chika really wowed me and I did not hexperrerit. And her green outfit is gorgeous.

3. Yeah, we are going to have to define what a diva is or does. These women are entertaining. I am entertained. I love our own ratchetness. There is nothing like it. Love and Hip Hop, LA Preachers, Real Housewives, none of it compares to our very own ratchetness. It's beautiful. Having said that, what are these women's plans? Some mentioned their goals but it should be a requirement that the purpose of each woman's entry into the competition be made known, and there should be some challenge that shows that. Hey, notice I'm calling them women not girls or ladies...yeah XD

4. I have not seen such diversity in a long time. We have all women here: lepa and orobo, dark, light, and bleached, natural hair, weave, and braids, glasses and no glasses, varying age groups, and different personalities. Hey Chika, perhaps you and your crew should develop a casting agency, and I'm serious.

5. So this mansion has 5 bedrooms and one big bed. 1 bed for 5 women to share. And there is a mat. I love how realistic this is, I do. But they are strangers. How about bunk beds instead so each person has their own sleeping area. So many things can happen. What if one pulls a Mary Jane and wets the bed due to some psychological issue? And what about those surprise period stains? Worst of all, people exercising in their sleep. Look, I shared a bed with my cousins when we visited my grandma in Ajegunle but that was family. I believe there is room for modification.

6. You showed food!!!! I love korean dramas for many reasons: for the story (shoutout to tvN), the pretty people, the cinematography, the clothes, and greatest of all the food. I started going to korean restaurants because of kdramas. And when I'm on the train home and hunger is shoki-ing my stomach, I peruse instagram for hashtags of Nigerianfoods and that tides me over till I get home (boy, do I miss kpomo). So you see, thank you for that 5 second clip of jollof rice and salad, not let's do more.

7. I love the energy from these women. That intro was beautifully done. I can see their personalities, and they are comfortable with themselves and comfortable with one another. I really do like them, and I find them relatable. And they aren't camera shy. Speaking of which, are you guys cursed to never have a proper sound person? I know there is some physics involved when shooting indoors but if kdramas can perfect it...please ehn do something abourrit

8. They go to the market!!!!! Honestly, this is an excellent way to export Nigerian culture. And this brings me back to the "African Diva" point. Will you guys be shooting in other countries? And do not mention South Africa abeg? Togo nko? Gambia? Kenya? Namibia? Botswana? Rwanda? I know it will cost money but there are so many untapped potential for advertisers.

9. I forgot one thing. That intro...hmmm Aunty Chika. I was not there with you in labour and I appreciate your hustle. You are encouraging me to keep up with this blogging thing, as well as to keep going with school. However...you know, and I know, and I know that you know we know that you need to modify that intro a lil bit. Just a lil bit.

I like this venture. We see average Nigerians, and I am here for it. It is madly entertaining. I laughed..a lot...with the women, at the women...it was a ball. So keep it up Chike.

tvN Korean Dramas

Oh my goodness. There is a new favorite in town. Move over everyone else, tvN network is awesome and I really hope they are here to stay.

I like Korean dramas, otherwise known as KDramas, but after a while the ridiculous naivete, the hand grabbing, and the absolute disregard of the woman and for the woman in relationship setting was disturbing. Oh and the frozen face kisses and never hugging back. It was just simply too absurd. There is a reason It Started With a Kiss and My Name is Kim Sam Soon will always have a space in my heart.

So I watched I Need Romance and I LOVED IT!!!! I wanted to find the entire cast and follow their works, it was that good. Did it pass the Bechdel test, where women are in a scene talking about something other than men? I'm not sure. And that is unfortunate and it is such a good and mature drama. You have women being their own agency and making their own decisions for themselves, whether it is to try again and be hurt or to forgive and forget and move on. You have women deciding for themselves whether to kiss...I never realized just how big a deal this was much less to have sex. So I watched all three series and I am so glad.

Then I saw Dating, not Marriage. In addition to seeing actors I had been denying myself the pleasure of watching, my kdrama mind was blown. Every single thing was perfect, my goodness I have never seen a much more perfect drama. The writing was beautiful, the acting excellent, the every single thing, the subtle things, the major things, all were perfection. And there was actually characterization here not stereotypes.

And then came Queen In-Hyun's Man. From the first episode alone, I knew I was going to love this. I love well-developed characters and the true test of that is with the antagonist. It is not enough to make someone the bad guy, there must be a reason. Why are they the bad guy? There is always a reason. The leads were just amazing.

And the granddaddy of them all, the drama that was not centered on a romantic plot, the drama of all dramas Misaeng. This drama had my life and gave it back. I could only watch an episode a day because it was just too good. First is the casting. I am not used to kdramas having non-skinny/non-muscled actors playing a non-comedic role. Having the chubby coworker with the curly hair in the role he played was as groundbreaking as having a chubby Kim Sun-ah in My Name is Kim Sam-Soon. It was that important. And the way the drama was shot...the camera work was orgasmic. It was absolutely creative and beautiful. Then the female characters and their clothes and positions....sahn!!!!! You have a brilliant female working with a bunch of prejudiced men and she kept at it and was strong for herself, not strong to prove a point. I got to see the life of the salaryman and there were other languages other than English. So yes, this drama is not for the lighthearted, and I appreciated that it did not rely on a romantic crutch.

I just finished Heart to Heart and again I bow for tvN. You guys must have recruited the noisemakers, troublemakers, and outcasts from the other networks because you guys did not play! We finally have couples addressing matters in a mature manner. We have characters who are vulnerable and honest with their emotions. We saw the same in Marriage not Dating. We see complex characters not that saccharine syrupy nonsense, and there is actual relevance to real life. They misunderstand and resolve matters. They talk and deal with issues. They address their expectations of each other and sex is not some sacred subject that gets pushed aside. You guys did you research and now you have spoiled me for all dramas.

I await that collaboration with Nigerian film industry, and while we are at it let's have Chimamanda Adichie collaborate on a script eh?

Chimamanda Adichie

I like this person.
I absolutely like this person.

I truly admire her.
I do hope she has her own blog. The machine of her mind is simply fascinating.

She is brilliant.

INTJ+Nigerian

I took the Myers Briggs Test and I found out that I am INTJ. Based on US statistics, this is a pretty rare type. But I wonder, just how many Nigerians are INTJ. I don't think it is that rare in a different country or culture. I certainly refer to articles on this when it comes to expressing my emotions. I do not rely on them or involve them for the most part, even in relationships. It takes me a while to express what I feel and how I feel. I can communicate math, symbolism and the feelings of others, but not mine.

Source: reddit

1. I use song lyrics (or quotes or many other things) written by others to communicate emotion. Symbols are also values as they communicate a message without having to use a bunch of words. Verbal expression of feelings is difficult because I'm almost self conscious about it. It's vocabulary I'm not used to using, and I witness others (feelers) using it in excess. I don't want you to think I'm just throwing words around. I have deep emotions, and while others may not see it, the connection that I seek makes it prevalent. I use the well written words of others to help me with this. And if I do say anything affectionate, it's a big deal.
2. Spending time together includes doing our own thing while sharing oxygen. I enjoy you being in my space (most of the time). That doesn't mean I don't want face to face time, but we can spend quality time together without actually having to talk.
   1. I am hard on myself, indescribably so. I am disappointed when I let you down because I know you are also disappointed too. It is one of the most painful things for me to think that I cannot measure up to what you want.
   2. I WANT to play with you; I want sex to be fun. But at the same time it is something very mental for me. There is much more that goes into it beyond arousal; it is connection based, extremely mental, and I want to be ONE with you.
3. A relationship is an investment. I can decide quickly who will work out and who will not. I make quick judgments, and once I decide on the one who will work, I am invested. If I know a relationship is done with, I cut emotion quickly.
4. I look out for those closest to me. If I enjoy something, I want you to be able to share the enjoyment. If I’m able to enjoy something and you aren’t with me, I spend the time wishing you were there to enjoy it too. If I find something I like, I want to either share mine or get one for you too. It’s another way I show affection.
5. Try to stick to the plans we’ve made. I get disappointed when things don't go according to plan. If we are going out on a Friday night, and we decided on Pizza, I can deal with switching to Chinese. Just don’t call me Thursday afternoon and tell me you have to reschedule. If I actually like you, I would have been looking forward to it. (If I was relieved you canceled, it’s not going to work out with us anyway).
6. I am more sensitive than you think. I take critique well. I don't take your criticism well. You are important and so is your opinion. You do have the ability to hurt my feelings.
7. INFJs want peace and harmony. So do I, but peace and harmony for me looks like finding a workable solution or a resolution. I don't bend to make peace; I can get stubborn. I like to come to a win/win solution for us both. Loose ends bother me. I will never be coy about bringing up issues. Empathy is difficult because I can be self centered. Knowing I hurt you hurts me, but I also need to know why what I did hurt you. It has to make sense to me. If I love you, I am direct with you because I want things to get worked out. Bottom line: fixing the problem, and fixing it quickly, is the goal.
8. I always want to make the relationship better. It doesn't mean the relationship is broken. It just means I want to make a good thing the best thing. If I tell you to try something new, I’m not trying to change who you are as a person. I’m trying to help you be the best you can be. If I didn't care, I'd leave you to yourself.
9. I collect info over time and make general observations. If I accuse you of something and you ask for specifics, I have a hard time recalling exacts. I know something happened, I just don’t remember the trivial (to me) details. Once I generalize, I toss the details. If I do remember details, it means something is terribly wrong