You must have heard people wrongly pronounce the ‘ru’ of “February” i/juː/ you rather than /ruː/ roo, as if it were spelled “Feb-u-ary,” or maybe you wrongly pronounce it yourself. I’ve actually heard people pronounce it “Feb-ry.” Now, here’s the right pronunciation (click)

Apart from the Valentines’ day and being the shortest month in the year (Julian and Gregorian Calendar), with 28 days in common years and 29 days in leap years, here are some other interesting facts about FEBRUARY.

In common years, February starts on the same day of the week as March, and November, but on the same day as August in leap years, like 2012.

Horoscope: February 1 to 18th falls under Aquarius, while the rest of the month, Pisces.

Symbol

• Its birth flower is the violet (Viola (plant)) and the common primrose (Primula vulgaris).^[4]
• Its birthstone is the amethyst. It symbolizes piety, humility, spiritual wisdom, and sincerity.
• Its Zodiac signs are Aquarius (until February 18) and Pisces (start at February 19)

February is the only month of the year that can pass without a single full moon. It is also the only month of the calendar that once every six years and twice every 11 years, will have only four full 7-day weeks. Where the first day of the month starts on a Monday and the last day ends on a Sunday, this was observed in 2010 and can be traced back 11 years to 1999, 6 years back to 1993, 11 years back to 1982, 11 years back to 1971 and 6 years back to 1965; and so on twice 11 years consecutively and once six years either forward into the future or back into the past. This works unless the pattern is broken by a skipped leap year, but no leap year has been skipped since 1900 and no others will be skipped until 2100. (Years that are evenly divisible by 100 are not leap years, unless they are also evenly divisible by 400, in which case they are leap years.^[2][3]) A year of this kind would be a common year starting on Friday. It cannot happen in a leap year.

Events and Holidays

• Black History Month (Canada and United States)
• LGBT History Month (United Kingdom)
• National Bird-Feeding Month
• Parent Leadership Month
• Abolition of Slavery in Mauritius:February 1
• St Brigid’s Day: February 1, Ireland
• Groundhog Day: February 2, United States and Canada
• Imbolc: February 2
• Independence of Sri Lanka: February 4
• 1917 Constitution of Mexico: February 5
• Waitangi Day in New Zealand: February 6
• Slovenian Cultural Holiday: February 8
• National Foundation Day in Japan: February 11
• Abraham Lincoln‘s birthday: February 12, United States
• Valentine’s Day: February 14
• Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre: An infamous mafia attack. February 14
• Flag Day of Canada: February 15
• Kosovo‘s Independence Day: February 17
• Presidents Day (United States, third Monday)
• International Mother Language Day: February 21
• Independence Day in Saint Lucia: February 22
• George Washington‘s birthday: February 22, United States (often coincides with President’s Day, see above)
• Flag Day of Mexico: February 24
• Independence Day in Estonia: February 24
• People Power Revolution (Philippines) February 25
• Liberation Day (Kuwait) February 26
• Dominican Republic Independence: February 27
• Leap Day: February 29 (Every four years, with some exceptions)
• National Day of the Sun (in Argentina)
• National Wear Red Day (in the US and the UK)

"Waka!" #OccupyNigeria Image - Somewhere in Nigeria

Waka!! This image captures the feelings on the Occupy protesters across the world, from California to New York, to Egypt, Italy, Syria, and now Nigeria. Protests of various shapes and sizes, both organized and unorganized – And for various causes.

The nature of the protests we’ve seen in the past 12 months hasn’t been seen in our lifetime (read The Protester, Time Magazine)

via Baroka

Civil rights leader and nonviolence proponent Martin Luther King (left) meets activist Malcolm X in the halls of the U.S. Capitol in 1964. It was their only meeting.

Our photo of the week is in the spirit of the day (MLK Day), and of the times. And yes, its a rare one –  it features the only meeting between the “drum major for peace” Dr. Martin Luther King, and Malcolm X. Both activists met in the halls of the U.S. Capitol in 1964.

“If you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter.”  Quote from a 1968 sermon at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.

Photo By: Marion Trikosko, Library of Congress – digital version copyright Science Faction

The OccupyNigeria Protest in at the UN headquarters in New York, Jan 14, 2012

Jan 14, New York – The OccupyNigeria protest keeps spreading – this time the place was the UN headquarters. With the temperature hovering between 16°F and 19°F, the turnout was impressive as Nigerians came out to make their grievances known. Grievances which erupted as a result of  the removal of the fuel subsidy by the Goodluck Jonathan administration on the first day of the year. A cruel new year gift many might say.

Among the protesters was R&B singer, Banky W, who also took part in the protests in Lagos, days earlier. Like many of the protesters, his frustrations transcends the subsidy removal – “the wasteful spending, 1billion naira ($6.25million) to feed the president and his family…the 2012 budget is just a joke with some of the line-items such as 250 million naira for scanners and printers…” He also referenced recent studies that suggests that Nigerian are among the happiest people in the world, “not anymore,” he declared. A lot was said by everybody who got on the mic and in front of the cameras, but they all demand change!

Click here for pictures from the protest

The protest started from the Nigerian House on 2nd  ave before moving to the UN around 2pm, and ended sometimes between 3:45 and 4pm as the blistering cold crept in.

photo: UnderDaRock 

Last year, we decided to do a Lagos launch for amebor.com and tie it in with the Christmas celebraions.  Suffice to say, it was a succesful gig, so naturally we had to top last years’ success this time around with DESPUES 2: Welcome to the Royalty Lifestyle (at least TRY to top it).

How did the event turnout? It was a huge success – with fantastic crowd turnout, and great music by DJ Zimo made it a night to remember. The venue, Deuces Lounge, was packed as early as 1am…and it remained that way till around 5am…

Click here for pictures

Makoko, Lagos - November 2011

You may follow Teju @TEJUcole on twitter for his thoughtful 140s, or view his photostream on flickr.

Somewhere in Lagos - Dec 2011

You may follow Teju @TEJUcole on twitter for his thoughtful 140s, and interesting links he shares.

Google continues to ramp up its operation and growth across Africa. Having opened offices in a number of African cities, including Nairobi (Kenya), Kampala (Uganda), Dakar (Senegal) and Lagos (Nigeria).

Its latest move is the localized YouTube websites for Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, and others. The localized youtube websites feature the country’s flag-inspired logo. And are  expected to display content relevant to the country the visitor is browsing from.

Youtube Uganda - www.youtube.co.ug

Youtube visitors in Nigeria are redirected to http://www.youtube.com/?gl=NG&hl=en-GB - or you can simply visit Youtube.com.ng or Youtube.ng

The Nigerian version of Youtube was launched with a video featuring Nigerian Rapper/Producer, Jesse Jagz. In the video, which you can watch below, he appears to a pupil who is in dire need of inspiration for his school work – watch below

If you’ve ever wondered what goes on in the brain (at least the female brain) during what’s believed to the funnest part of sex – orgasm. Then the video below should take care of your curiosity.

 The scans show the build up, the big event, and the “recovery” after several areas of the brain light up in a “crescendo” of oxygen-rapacious activity, reports the Guardian. The video shows what happens to the brain of a 54-year-old PhD student and sex therapist masturbating in an MRI machine. “It’s my dissertation,” the student said. “I’m committed to it.” The aim of the research is to “understand how the orgasm builds up from genital stimulation and what parts of the brain become recruited, and finally build up into an orgasm,” said Rutgers Professor Barry Komisaruk, who presented the work at a scientific conference in Washington.

 

The five-minute video shows how activity changes across 80 separate regions of the brain in snapshots taken every two seconds. Oxygen utilization shows up dark red (lowest activity) to yellow (highest). The orgasm leads to almost the entire brain turning yellow. Only an epileptic seizure is believed to engage more areas of the brain, reports Scientific American.

via Newser

The birth of Jacob Anthony Saydeh gives a whole new meaning to the cliché, “Perfect Timing.”

MOUNT HOLLY, New Jersey (AP) — Jacob Anthony Saydeh won’t have any trouble remembering precisely when he was born. A U.S. hospital says Jacob entered the world at 11:11 a.m. on Friday — 11-11-11.

via AP

RIVIERA BEACH, FL - Two youths wear their pants with underwear showing on April 23, 2009 in Riviera Beach, Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

What are your thoughts on saggy pants,and the ban on them in Georgia (USA)? For a first time saggy pants offense, you pay the City of Albany $20, and for subsequent violations, your fine could go as high as $200. $200 fine on $50 jeans? That $200 is just about the price for a pair of True Religion jeans, or those colorful Ed Hardy jeans (do people still wear those?).

credit: gather, BlackonBlackCrime

Africa.comDEALS visit: www.deals.africa.com

If you’ve ever used or heard of GroupOn, or Social Living, or any of such daily deals companies, and you happen to be an African or have an interest in anything African, then you might want to check out Africa.com Deals

Africa.com’s online social buying site targets Africa and the African Diaspora which is a significant and growing market.

West Africa’s largest commercial airline, Arik Air has signed up, and discounted airline tickets will be offered on Africa.comDEALS

Africa.comDEALS will provide significant discounts on a variety of products and services of importance to the million or more users who visit Africa.com each month. Categories include discounted air fares to Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa and other African destinations; hotels, car rentals, traveler’s health insurance, international calling cards, cellphones and cellphone services,
money transfers, theater/music/sports events, museum memberships, subscriptions, fashion, restaurants, wine, food (coffee, chocolate, etc.), even hair styling.

However, Africa.com offers many other services outside of the deals, its a fast growing website focusing on all things related to Africa.

Africa.com CEO Teresa Clarke, “Africa.com’s mission is to change the way the world sees Africa and to be the online platform for that change. Recognizing the strong ties that Africa.com’s visitors have to the continent and all things African, it was only natural that we would design a group buying site to bring amazing bargains on the things that mean the most to them.”

How does it work?

•Go to the site (deals.africa.com), enter your e-mail, and the deals will start flowing.

•If you feel like it, tell us the types of deals you’re most interested in, and we’ll do our best to create them for you.

•There’s absolutely no cost to join, AND if you sign up during the months of August and September, you’ll be entered to win your choice of a free pair of tickets from New York to Nigeria on Arik Air or $500 cash!