HOW IT BEGAN…

During my teens, I had a hobby besides reading and scribbling on paper, and that was collecting stuff for my scrapbook. It simply  started with collecting old birthday cards, stamps and some  postcards I received from a childhood friend living in Germany then my collection expanded to pictures at the back of match boxes, celebrities- both Nigerian and International- and then movie summaries from the MNET (Now DSTV) T.V guide and interesting articles on books, news and other stuff. I found my material anywhere- from newspapers to T.V guides, from Binta

Children’s Magazine to Harpers’. Lots of stuff went into that scrapbook because I was interested in a lot of things. And when that old notebook had no room after a while; I carefully moved them all into a thick old office diary, adding blank pages to it because I didn’t want to uproot my collection a second time; a bit of it got lost to my sorrow. I added more stuff eventually, some old family photos and funny lists- either with markers or a pen and more articles I could lay my hands on.

I wasn’t the most popular girl in school but I gradually got some attention because of my beloved battered old scrapbook; which was always in my school bag. I was reluctant to share its contents at first, for fear of what they would think of my curious hobby but to my amazement, they always begged me to show it to them and we would actually have long talks over it.

It’s thanks to this hobby that My Favorite Things- now in its eighth year- came to be in the first place. The first time I ever heard the word ‘blog’ was in 2007, when a friend of mine ( a truly wonderful person) started hers; and I was at a loss of what to write about when she suggested I created one of my own. What would I write about? I had the misguided impression at the time that blogs had one main topic but the only things I could write about were books and movies, maybe T.V. I wasn’t planning on making it a “telenovela blog” like my blog idol’s (Philomena Ojukutu) blog-  Telenovela Love Garden - initially but I got so few views that I thawed and wrote my first telenovela post… and received my first comments, all positive!

 Mrs. Ojukutu’s kind encouragement spurred me on to write telenovela recaps, striving to make the blog at least as good as hers. But after a while I realized… why should the blog have just telenovela posts? And that was after I happened to glance through my scrapbook one evening. I’d named the blog My Favorite Things, after my favorite song in The Sound Of Music but I saw that that’s exactly what I’ve been collecting over the years in the scrapbook , my favorite things! Why not make the blog just like the scrapbook, a whole series of posts of what interest me- instead of a main topic! The scrapbook probably wouldn’t have gotten so much attention if I’d stuck to old birthday cards, stamps and matchbox pictures, which would’ve been the same for My Favorite Things if I didn’t decide to add more topics. Structure is good but can be so boring too!

Hence, the real origin of this blog- my old scrapbook. Not only was it the inspiration behind it but it’s thanks to it I have material, for some of my blog posts are actually from it; for example, Best T.V Couples of All Time, Sabrina: Sabrina and Linus and The Six Faces of 007.

 My Favorite Things is still an unprofitable blog but since it started as a fun hobby evolved from another fun hobby, I’m more than glad it’s still here… and I’m very proud of it, for one thing it currently has over 300 thousand page views and

several positive comments. People have different reasons for starting up their own blog and in most cases, deals with a main topic… like Food, Lifestyle, Entertainment, Gossip, Travel and whatever. Mine… besides movies and Telenovela recaps, Bo and Carly (my favorite DAYS OF OUR LIVES couple) fan fiction, news (both show biz and informative), opinions on T.V shows and so on. I’m apt to express myself better on paper so this blog means a lot to me. It’s a means of fully expressing myself, to be myself and share both information and some of my favorite things to the world in this digital age.

Thanks to an old scrapbook!

OREKOYA BOYS FOUND; "OLX NANNY" BEHIND BARS

Image courtesy of: newspunch.org

I was very glad to read in The Punch this morning that the three Orekoya boys kidnapped by their nanny were found alive and reunited with their parents. After found abandoned at Shasha area of Lagos, the children were immediately taken to the hospital for a thorough check up and treatment. On hearing about their kidnapping last week, my heart immediately went out to the boys’ parents who were no doubt out of their minds with worry, especially after the kidnappers’ demand of 15 million naira for the safe return of their little boys. Just to show we should be more than careful about the hired help we bring into our houses! And what’s worse, the nanny was hired via olx.com; a popular online trading website.   No one could have possibly foreseen such a thing like this to happen and lord knows how olx.com’s owner or owners will get over this stain in its reputation.

Image courtesy of : newspunch.org

And even more good news; the “ Olx nanny”; who called herself Mary Akinloye when she was hired by the unsuspecting family was arrested last night; according to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Kayode Aderanti; thanks to the police investigators'  smart move of tracing her through the cell phone used to contact the children’s parents. Her accomplices, however, are still at large but hopefully the police will get them eventually; before they go after other children.

The Orekoya boys are safely back with their parents now and time and love will help them get over their 8 day ordeal. All’s well that ends well. But in the meantime it would be best to stick to buying and selling online; not hiring a stranger online to look after your kids.  

THE BOSTON BOMBER FOUND GUILTY

#Tsarnaev found #GUILTY on all 30 counts. LIVE COVERAGE now on FOX25 or in app. #FOX25 pic.twitter.com/Pd0GdpjLYw
— FOX 25 News Boston (@fox25news) April 8, 2015

Two years ago, on the 13th of April,  two young horrors, Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev  planted bombs at the Boston Marathon, killing three and injuring several people. Today, a verdict was reached and the surviving of the two  who caused so much pain and chaos- has been found guilty on 30 charges; making him eligible for the death penalty.
It still baffles me how anyone could have such a low regard for human life. It's  heartrending to see Islam's teachings blackened and misunderstood  and used as a reason to cause mass destruction. For those two to do what they did, one cannot imagine exactly what was in their heads when they planted those bombs- nothing except the intention to cause a major tragedy and for what? 
The Tsarnev boys chose to throw their lives away; Tamerlan's now dead and Dzhokhar, at 21, will probably be given the death penalty. He's probably not afraid of death since he regards his brother as a martyr in paradise, one wonders if the thought of being executed would  even terrify him.
Looking at his pic on the internet, I'm filled with nothing but disgust for him. When I think of the people who were killed and injured on that fateful day, I'm reminded of how he and his brother showed no regard for human life and causing  Muslims to be likened to terrorists. Killing and bombing is not way to win God's favour!
Whatever punishment that awaits this young man, he more than deserves it. I can say no more than that.

FRESH : FURIOUS 7 (FAST AND FURIOUS 7)

Latest in "The Fast & Furious" franchise;  FURIOUS 7  has additional cast members; Jason Statham (The Transporter), Djimon Hounsou (Blood Diamond) and veteran actor, Kurt Russell.  Sadly (As we all know) this is the final movie of original cast member Paul Walker who died in a car crash on November 30th, 2013.
Spoiler: Look out for a fight between Jason Statham and The Rock!
When I watched the first FAST & FURIOUS so long ago; I never imagined it would go this far- six sequels! 
Rest in peace Paul Walker.

THE SOUND OF MUSIC's GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY

Image: www.movieguide.org

If anybody asked me the first time I watched THE SOUND OF MUSIC; I wouldn't know. This movie was an "often watched" one when I was a child; mostly on weekends. Dad would pop in the tape in the VCR and my brothers and I would watch the beautiful woman (Julie Andrews) appearing on the mountain and burst into song- a sight we were never tired of! The nuns didn't have to give their differing opinions about Maria- the main one being "Maria is not an asset to the abbey"- it was obvious to us even then that Maria stood out, despite her protests the abbey was her home and life. So we were rather glad the Reverend Mother (Peggy Wood) sent her off "only for a little while" to experience the world by being a governess to the Von Trapp children (Lisel, Fredrich, Louisa, Brigitta, Kurt, Marta and Gretl). Little did Maria know her life would be changed forever after meeting their handsome and initially forbidding father, Captain Von Trapp( Christopher Plummer).

Image: www.theguardian.com

Maria proved to be the family's guardian angel as she made some positive changes in the household, befriending and earning the trust of the children, teaching them to sing and there's the epic scene where she stood up to Captain Von Trapp and accused him of shutting out the children; drawing him back to their arms. I think the  part where  he realised she was right and apologised to her afterwards was when I started liking him; I couldn't see why any father would treat his children the way he did, even if he was still grieving their mother (how I hated that whistle he initially used to summon them). Hence it was wonderful watching the change from a cold man to a warm father.
Even a heart warming story like this wouldn't be complete without a little conflict, the conflict was in the shape of the elegant Baroness (Eleanor Parker) who immediately saw what the Captain felt for Maria before he even realised it himself and her subtle move of keeping them apart only brought them closer and I must say, the woman showed maturity by gracefully admitting defeat and leaving them to be together.

 To this day, the scene where Captain Von Trapp admitted his love to Maria at the gazebo is my favorite and the song 'My Favorite Things' was actually the inspiration behind this blog's title.
And there's the other conflict, the Nazis occupying Austria and the Captain, refusing to be one of them- "and joining them... unthinkable"- hence their flight from Austria to Switzerland and the beginning of a new life. As this is a true story, to the uninitiated fans; the Von Trapp family became professional singers, their legacy still continuing to this very day; one of which includes a music institute.

I have The Sound of Music on DVD presently and I rejoice with the cast as they celebrate its 50th Anniversary. I remember its last anniversary where Christopher Plummer and Julie Andrews appeared on OPRAH (still handsome, still beautiful) but was more enthralled when the children were summoned, via whistle! It's so great to see them all together again to celebrate this wonderful classic's anniversary. The Sound of Music is a tale of faith, unexpected turns of life and importance of family. It will always be a delight to me and millions of fans over the world and I wish it a very happy golden anniversary.





The Lonely Goatherd - The Sound Of Music, Sung by Julie Andrews as Wonderful Original Maria from Isaac Sarayiah on Vimeo.