CAN CAN

First, I would like to say hello to Sarah Lavin's mom: Hi, Mrs. Lavin. Your daughter is doing well, except for the gangrene.

Pictures

Pictures from Limbé, Buea (Mt. Cameroon, my nemesis), and the case in Yaoundé. Link and password are on the right.

Cup of Nations

In case you didn't know, the Africa Cup of Nations (ACN) has started, just finishing up the group stage a few days ago. (It's set up like the World Cup, but with 16 teams instead of 32: 4-team groups, the top two from each group moves on to the next round, then it's knockout from there.) Every continent has their soccer tournament, the biggest being Europe's, and the ACN is huge. (I think the winner of the 2010 ACN gets an automatic bid into the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, or at least a leg up in qualifying, but I'm not 100% sure.) It's the most legit soccer tournament in Africa. There's a club championship like the Champion's League in Europe, but club football is weak here, so the ACN is really the only thing going.

Cameroon is playing, confirming the fact that the only really thing that unites Cameroonians is the Indomitable Lions. I watched their game against Zambia with some other PCVs in Garoua Saturday (the 26^th) at the supermarché bar (It's directly connected to the supermarché. Publix really needs to look into this.), and I've never seen Cameroonians so excited before. People were going crazy every time Cameroon scored, which was pretty often. I got caught up doing nerdy stuff on my computer during the first half of the Sudan match Wednesday, but when I went out to get a fish during halftime, I've never seen the streets so dead at 7 PM. Everyone was watching the game, except the fish lady, thank goodness. Getting the poisson took longer than expected, and when the second half started up and Cameroon scored, the whole village echoed in cheers as I was walking back to my house. No wonder when Cameroon advances far into these kinds of tournaments, Son Excellence Paul Biya declares a national holiday.

After beating Sudan (poor Sudan) in the last group match (they lost to Egypt and beat Zambia, too), Cameroon, lead by demi-god Samuel Eto'o, moves on to the quarterfinals. You should catch one of the games on one of the random soccer channels if you can. The quarterfinals are the 3^rd and 4^th (Cameroon plays the 4^th – today), semis the 7^th, final the 10^th. (Third place game is the 9^th, but who really cares.)

Favorites

Here is a selection of favorites for really no reason at all:

Favorite…

… Kanye West lyric from Graduation: "I'm like a fly Malcolm X, buy any jeans necessary" ("Good Morning")

… Song featuring T-Pain: "The Good Life," Kanye West. Runner Up: "Kiss, Kiss," Chris Brown

… Song by T-Pain: "Bartender," feat. Akon.

I really don't know any other songs that are just by T-Pain. He's the new Nate Dogg, he sings the hook in every other hit rap song. (Bill Simmons, the ESPN.com writer, also called Robert Horry the Nate Dogg of the NBA for his numerous clutch shots in the playoffs in comparison to the nominal role he played on the team. The Sports Guy asks the eternal question: Was Robert Horry – Nate Dogg – really that good and played a vital role on the team, or was he merely playing for the right team – mid-90s Rockets, early 90s Death Row Records, Tim Duncan-era Spurs?)

… Memoir by a former president: My Life, Bill Clinton

… Memoir by a future (I hope) president: Dreams from my Father, Barack Obama

… BBC World Service show: "The Ticket," BBC's arts and entertainment show, Sunday nights at 19 hours GMT (8 PM Cameroon time)

… Cameroonian beer: I like Mützig or Satzenbrau, but those are hard to find up North, so let's go with "33" (trente-trois)

… French-language African news magazine: Jeune Afrique, although it focuses on North Africa too much, but I think it's published there, so it's understandable.

… Cameroonian soccer player (Not Eto'o category): Song. All I really know about him is he's a defender and might play club soccer in Germany. When we saw the national team play in Garoua (they played Rwanda… poor Rwanda), he was the biggest guy on the field, had dreads, and seemed to be the team leader (Eto'o didn't play, sadly).