Village boy Impressions

Many Bulsa seem to think that when we ask the question, "How do we say this or that in Buli?", it means they have to think back to some deep and incomprehensible Buli to say what it is. Others also believe that "pure" Buli is old-fashioned words or expressions used in a time different from ours. Neither of these ways of thinking is right. The essence of language is communication and in my opinion, language is what it is at any point in time. It can be likened to a living organism and it develops overtime by making new words and phrases, borrowing others, giving new meanings to old words among other strategies. A friend of mine in good humour, once remarked that "if we take away the French, Greek and Latin words from the English Language, it will become German!".  One of the topics that often trouble many Buli speakers is in relation to counting money or mentioning monetary figures. We therefore, continue our  lesson in numerals today by learning about mone

Stay calm and keep betting  Weekdays, weekends?  What are the odds?  Street soccer in Czechoslovakia, let’s bet  Jungle football in the Congo, let’s bet  Frigid futbol in Siberia, let’s bet!  Kunfu soccer in Shanghai, let’s bet!  Men’s sports, women’s sports  Children’s sports, adults’ sports  Anything sports, let’s bet!  Youth idleness?  No worries! No jobs? Pas de problème. Just bet and bet some more  Behold our doom!  Read:  Village Boy Impressions - Topsy Turvy The storm sweeps through our land Every block in every city Every street in every town Every shed in every village Betting, betting, betting! We are ravaged by day Haunted at night Beguiled in our leisure and Interrupted at our duty. Our flesh is unwilling, but worse Our very souls are infatuated Half-eaten by the cancerous worm Read:  Village Boy Impressions - Walking Backwards Bet this, bet that, bet here, bet there! Have we not obeyed your command? What more do you

It is a topsy-turvy world this For not the doers that count Not the men in the arena Not those faces marred by dust and blood Not those who walk the path and stumble Not those who dare the mighty things Who win the glorious triumphs checked by failure Not those who spend themselves in worthy causes Not those who strive valiantly and err Not those who lie sleepless so we sleep Not those whose silent sacrifices keep us Not those who starve to fill us up Not those who die that we might live No, the credit belongs not to them Honour belongs not to whom it is due! Read - Village Boy Impressions - Walking Backwards It certainly belongs not to the shoulder shrugs Those feeble souls that recoil at life Poor spirits who neither suffer nor enjoy Cynical in thought and speech Benjamin the donkey pales in comparison Who see, hear, and knows but speaks not When the elephant treads the tale of the mouse. Who dwell in the grey twilight of tranquillity Who, fearing the

Photo credit: liyouthsafetycoalition.org It is not uncommon to find derogatory expressions and remarks with the use of Tramadol on social media and other media of communication. The unfortunate trend must not be allowed to continue unabated. Tramadol is an FDA approved prescription drug for the treatment of moderate to severe pain. It is a mainstream drug in the country’s health system for the management of pain. For the drug to be associated with derogatory comments in everyday Ghanaian communication should be a cause of worry. Tramadol is a synthetic opioid drug and like other opioid drugs interferes with normal release of neurotransmitters, chemical mediators. This could lead to drug dependence and tolerance on continued repeated use. Drug dependence develops due to debilitating withdrawal symptoms and tolerance results when higher than normal doses are needed to elicit drug action. Affected individual thus need a continued and higher than normal doses of the drug for comf

1.      A person who abuses others is hardly ever asked to stop. We don't want to stand up to the person doing wrong. Rather, we ask the victim(s) to tolerate the abuse. And if the victim refuses to accept our advice, we conclude that he/she is a bad person - not the abusive person. People who abuse others are like 'small gods' to be complained about but not stood up to. They are treated like victims to be understood and pitied and their victims are to be advised and praised for tolerating abuse. 2.       Praying in tongues is a shouting competition. A test of endurance. At the first Pentecost, we are told that the tongues (languages) of the apostles were understood by a multitude of devout men from 'every nation under heaven' (Acts 2: 1 - 8). In our time, no human being can understand the tongues we speak; an endless stream of discordant sounds emitted by people in seeming agony and disarray.  3.      We swat a fly with a sledgehammer but always attemp