I Love Your Blog Award

There are many villagers that quietly join us to enjoy the posts and comments without sharing their village voice. Our blog never seems to get much in the way of COMMENTS in comparison to our daily hits. I appreciate the stealth villagers as much as those that are move 'vocal'.

One of my stealth villagers is Tey, a busy working Filipina mom living in Toronto. Tey publishes 'My Daily Thoughts'. Tey presented us with the 'I Love Your Blog Award':

"... for his informative posts about Black people (just love it)."

I appreciated the love when she gave our blog the award.  In fact, I've shared the award with others in 2007 and 2008.  I figure it was time to share some love again with other blogs that deserve it. The Electronic Village presents the 'I Love Your Blog Award' to five others that we read and enjoy often. They are more than welcome to pass along the award to other blogs which they love to read as well and so on.

1. African American Pundit - Rock is one of the first bloggers that I regularly followed in the afrosphere. His blog comes strong and correct with information about both race and politics.  He was also one of the first to join me in speaking out against the high level of taser-related deaths in America.
2. What About Our Daughters? - Gina is a blogger willing to take her online efforts to a new level.  She is a book author and a movie-maker.  She organizes the annual Blogging While Brown Conference.  At the end of the day this is a blog that I think should be followed by every person of African descent in our nation ... especially Black women!
3. Eccentric Lover - Nailah is a young 'un.  She is a college freshman who shows remarkable clarity on her blog on the trials and tribulations of being a teenager.  She also finds some of the most provocative and unique photos that I've ever seen.
4. The Field Negro - Field won this award from me in 2007.  He is the most consistent Black blogger that I've ever seen.  No guest bloggers.  It's all Field, all the time.  He seems to be able to have a new and powerful blog post each and every evening.  He provides outstanding social and political commentary on all issues that impact on the Black community.  This is my favorite blog of all-times!
5. Booker Rising - I disagree with the perspective shared by Shay on this blog more often than not.  However, I admire this blogger for bringing out the diverse voices of Black opinion makers in both America, African and Europe.  Can anyone tell me if Shay is a man or woman?

Congratulations to all of you and thanks for writing such great blogs. Villagers, who are the blogs and bloggers that YOU love?

'E' is for Excellence Award: 10 Excellent Blogs

So many folks are heading to Facebook that the landscape for pure-bloggers is changing. One of the things that I see less nowadays are the informal blogging awards that used to be given out so often. A few years ago I was blessed to receive the 'E For Excellence' Blog Award'.

I would like to re-ignite that particular award. There is only one rule -- after receiving the 'E For Excellence' Blog Award, you must pass it on to 10 more excellent blogs. Here are the ten blogs that I would like to share this award with today:

1. BDPA Education and Technology Foundation Blog - This blog shares information about fundraising, funding sources and BDPA programs. BDPA seeks to advance the careers of African Americans in the information technology industry.
2. Black Web 2.0 - This blog is great about discussing the wealth of exceptional innovation, talent, and ambition of Blacks in the technology and new media industries in an opinionated and authentic voice.
3. Booker Rising -This is a blog for Black conservatives. The sheer volume of quality blog posts blows me away every day.
4. Depraved Mindset - This is a blog for the radical progressives who wish to expose the world to the truth and promote the create a more just society.
5. Field Negro - This blog gets more comments on its daily posts than any other non-entertainment blog in the world. He has great rapport with his blogging community ... and his social commentary is always on point for Black America.
6. For Harriet - This blog works to elevate the voices of Black women online and off.
7. Jack & Jill Politics - This is the most prominent political blog in the afrosphere. JJP prides itself on providing a Black bourgeoisie perspective on U.S. politics.
8. The BrownWatch - This blog provides news for people of color.
9. The Intersection | Madness & Reality - This blog talks about the injustices AfricanAmericans face, politics, and the reverent or irreverent. RiPPa uses his sense of humor and sarcasm to convey his opinion, and whether others agree with him, it isn’t his concern.
10. TNT: Truth ... Not Tasers - This blog tracks all taser-related deaths in North America. I admire the passion and comprehensive nature of the reporting done on this blog.

Congratulations to each of 'em for doing what they do! I hope that all villagers will take a moment to visit these ten Excellent Blogs.

Barack Obama Meets His Half-Brother, Mark Ndesandjo, in China

I was glad to see that President Barack Obama took some time while he was in China last week to meet with his half-brother, Mark Ndesandjo. [SOURCE]

Before President Obama headed to a formal dinner with China's President Hu Jintao, he set aside time to see his half brother and Ndesandjo's wife, who had flown up from the southern boomtown of Shenzhen where they live. The two last met in January when Ndesandjo attended Obama's inauguration as a family guest.

"My big brother, you know I think he was on his way to see the president of China. ... He came directly off the plane, changed some clothes and then came down and saw us. And he just gave me a big hug. And it was so intense. I'm still over the moon on it. I am over the moon. And my wife. She is his biggest fan, and I think she is still recovering," he said with a laugh.

The two last met in January when Ndesandjo attended Obama's inauguration in Washington, D.C., as a family guest.

The two brothers and Ndesandjo's wife, a native of Henan, China, had a long chat.

"All I can say is, we talked about family, and it was very powerful because when he came in through that door, and I saw him and I hugged him, and he hugged me and hugged my wife. It was like we were continuing a conversation that had started many years ago," Ndesandjo said.

The two men did not grow up together. Ndesandjo's mother, Ruth Nidesand, was Barack Obama Sr.'s third wife. President Obama's father had been a Kenyan exchange student who met his mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, a Kansas native, when they were in school in Hawaii. The two separated two years after he was born.

The senior Obama later met Ndesandjo's mother as a graduate student at Harvard University, and the two returned to live in Kenya, where Mark and his brother, David, were born and grew up. David later died in a motorcycle accident.

Obama's mother went on to marry an Indonesian man and he spent part of his young life in Jakarta. His sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, is half-Indonesian and her husband is Chinese-Canadian.

Since 2001, Ndesandjo has been living in the booming southern Chinese city of Shenzhen near Hong Kong and earns a living as a marketing consultant. For most of that time, he has maintained a low profile, with few people knowing his connection to the U.S. president.

But two weeks ago, he went public to launch a new novel, a semi-autobiographical book called "Nairobi to Shenzhen" that features a protagonist who is the son of a Jewish mother and an abusive father from Kenya.

President Obama indicated in a recent CNN interview that he hadn't read the book yet. Villagers may recall that the president also wrote about his father, who abandoned him as a child, in his best-selling memoir.

Ndesandjo's book seeks to raise awareness about domestic violence. His father beat him and his mother when they were living in Kenya, Ndesandjo said. Obama Sr. died in an automobile accident in 1982 at age 46.

"For a long time, I had serious, serious reservations about using that name (Obama) because of the hurt I experienced," he said. Though he wanted to maintain his privacy, he decided to write the novel because "there are certain things you can do and you really should do because you know it will help people."

Villagers, we are blessed to have a president with such a 'rainbow coalition' family tree. I think that it is cool that President Obama took time to visit his brother. What say u?

Blog Safari #34

I encourage all villagers to join us on our current blog safari? Our rhino-guide (she still needs a name!) wants to take you through the cyber-jungle to see some talented bloggers and creative blog posts. Enjoy the flow!!

• Afrospear - To Kill a Mockingbird: The Eric Frimpong Story


• Black Web 2.0 - Blogging While Brown Wrap-Up


• Booker Rising - PHOTOS: Obamas in Ghana


• Jack & Jill Politics - The NAACP Doesn't Care About Black People


• The Jose Vilson - On the Reason You May Only Get One Black Male Teacher Ever in Your Life (If At All)

Let us know if you come across any remarkable posts that should be shared in our next Blog Safari!