Jeams Hinaloc asked:




Argungu is already full of visitors. The attraction, however, is not this small Nigerian town, but the event starting the very next day: The Argungu Fishing Festival.

What is that?’ you ask. Well, it began in 1934 as a fishing competition in celebration of the visit of the Sultan of Sokoto. The contest was so well received it became an annual event! Other features were later included, and in 1970 an agricultural and livestock fair was added. Usually planned for February, this year’s festival, however, was held in March.

A severe harmattan season forced this postponement. The harmattan is a cool, dry and often dust-laden wind that blows southwestward from the Sahara from December through February. As we travel to Argungu, strong winds still stir up dust from the bare land and sweep it along like a thick, brown, windblown fog. Our lips and nostrils become sore from the dry wind. Men in flowing robes, mounted high on camels, draw up the neckpieces of their turbans to cover mouth and nostrils so that only their eyes peep out through the swirling dust. Motor vehicles creep along slowly until the wind dies down. Soon, however, the people arrive, eager to see the festival begin.
It opens with an exhibition of achievements in agriculture and livestock rearing. Let’s take a look at the goat-skinning competition. At a signal, each contestant truncates a hind leg of his slaughtered animal and inserts a small hollow cylinder between the skin and the flesh. He then blows through this hole to inflate the whole animal, which facilitates the separation of the skin from the body. The winner is able to lift an undamaged pelt free in just three minutes!

At the Waterside

Friday and Saturday feature contests at the waterside, beginning with the Kabanci display—a number of water events in the small Matan Fada River near the town. The banks of the river provide convenient slopes on which the spectators can stand and watch. Girls compete in hand-fishing contests and races in canoes made from hollowed-out palm trees. Men compete in similar and other events, including the underwater breath-holding contest. Contestants pop up from the water, one after the other, disappointed to see that others are outlasting them. The winner is clocked at 4 1?2 minutes, and might have continued longer if he had not been stopped by anxious assistants.

The Big Fish

Saturday’s program is the high point: the Argungu fishing contest. The rhythmic music of drummers and chanters sets the mood for the event. Crowds of fishermen station themselves on either side of the river, equipped with giant gourds and triangular fishing nets. Each gourd has an open end and is used either as a buoy on which the fisherman can float or as a container for fish.

Anticipation grows among the craning spectators. Many are wondering if this year’s winning catch will be bigger than the 98-kilogram (216-lb) fish caught in 1979. Since last year’s festival, no fishing has been allowed in this portion of the river. The water has become quite shallow during this dry season and is doubtless now teeming with fish.

At the sound of a gunshot, the charge of the fishermen begins. Wave after wave of men with their gourds and fishing nets surge down the river banks. Within minutes the shallow smoke-gray water swarms with men. A shout goes up: The first catch has been made!

Whenever anyone nets a heavy fish, other contestants come to his aid. Men in a patrolling boat take the catch to be weighed and tagged. The pace of weighing increases, but few catches are heavier than 30 kilograms (66 lb). Many pick up fish no bigger than sardines. Suddenly one weighing more than 40 kilograms (88 lb) is caught! Since most of the contestants have already left the water, the fisherman thinks this is the winner and makes the champion’s gesture. A few, however, continue fishing, hoping to catch something bigger. Perseverance pays off. Before the hour expires there is a shout of triumph! It is a 1.3-meter (4.27-ft) Bukuiki, as it is named in Hausa. At 50 kilograms (110 lb), it weighs much less than the record catch of 1979, but it is this year’s winner nonetheless.



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Oswald Melman asked:




In the 1990s, the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a cult hit.  Based on an 1980s film with the same name, it attracted millions of viewers and ran for several years – despite its somewhat cliché subject.  Though its following was less-than mainstream (and that of its spin-off Angel even less so), it earned a place in American television and pop culture history, receiving critical acclaim for its use of vampires and demons as metaphors for the challenges of growing up.

After the era of Buffy came and went, many assumed that the theme of vampires, at least for a while, would disappear, too.  In recent months, however, these mythical creatures have come front and center.  From Twilight to True Blood to The Vampire Diaries, vampire-themed television shows and films have become all the rage.  More and more television watchers find themselves switching their high definition televisions to HBO to watch True Blood and flocking to theaters to see Twilight than ever before.  And while before, vampire-themed entertainment was somewhat taboo, today, it is more popular than ever.
What does this recent obsession with these creatures that have existed in myths and fairy tales for hundreds of years mean?  There is no clear answer.

A most obvious and perhaps correct answer is that this vampire rage is simply a fad.  With the success of the Twilight book series and subsequent films, it is easy to argue that many in the entertainment business simply jumped on the bandwagon in hopes of making a quick buck.  With the increasing popularity of satellite TV, television stations are competing harder than ever for viewers’ attention.  Knowing that the attention and interest of audiences has been piqued by the vampires of Twilight, writers and producers hope that similarly themed shows have a similar effect.  Much like the reality craze of the 1990s, the vampire craze may be nothing more than simple domino effect.

There are, however, other explanations.  Though vampires have recently reemerged with a great amount of force in media and entertainment, they have been a fixture of storytelling for hundreds of years.  Vampires appear in stories that date back hundreds of years ago.  The myths of wooden stakes, crosses, garlic and sunlight are drawn from tales told long, long ago.  Maybe, the inclusion of these blood-sucking creatures in our literature and cultures actually says something about us.

What, of course, the existence of vampires in our mythology could mean is tough to pinpoint.  One possible explanation for the current craze, however, could be linked to the reality of the world around us.  In a world that seems to be increasingly in crisis, mythological and incredible tales serve as an escape.  Vampires and demons serve as manifestations of the evils we face in real life – war, crime, poverty, etc.  We switch our HD TVs to these mythological shows in part to escape from often much darker realities.

When we tell stories about these creatures, demonizing them but also giving them depth and complexity, we also tell stories about ourselves.  Vampires will not be disappearing from satellite TV anytime soon, but that may be a good thing after all.



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Kasan Groupe asked:




Wildly entertaining and shockingly hilarious, Alan Ball has turned Charlaine Harris’ vampire mystery novels into television’s most interesting show. The series revolves around Sookie Stackhouse, played by Anna Paquin, who is a beautiful and quirky telepathic barmaid living in the fictional town of Bon Temps, Louisiana. Her life gets turned upside when vampires ‘come out of the coffin’ and start co-existing with the human residents of her small town. Things really get going when she starts an unlikely romance with a 173 year old Civil War veteran and local vampire named Bill.

This show has been continually climbing in the ratings since its first season and for good reason. It offers the perfect combination of gore, lust and political satire. It provides a unique spin on pop culture that appeals to a broad range of audiences. Unlike so many vampire dramas, “True Blood” isn’t endlessly grim and full of angst; in fact some of the characters, especially Sookie, are downright cheery. Other Bon Temps residents include Sookie’s **** yet dumb bad-boy brother Jason, her sweet liberal boss Sam and her sarcastic, loud-mouthed best friend Tara. All the characters provide the plot with plenty of unique plot twists. Several new characters have also entered the scene this past season and are sure to wreak havoc in the upcoming third season. Most notably, Eric, a vampire sheriff and owner of the local vampire bar Fangtasia, presents an opening for a potential love triangle with Sookie and Bill.

“True Blood” certainly provides its audience with some classic vampire fair, including lots of gore and fangs; however it also offers a fresh take on the traditional vampire storyline. The third season is sure to offer plenty of surprising twists and turns as the show continues to distance itself from the original book series. Die hard fans will have to be patient though, as the third season isn’t set to air on HBO until June 2010. In case you missed a few episodes last season, you can always watch free tv shows online for free!



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