July Fourth Odds and Ends, and Friday Music Video!

Before getting to this week's Friday Music Video, a few things:

First, this weekend I am headed to DC to see some Peace Corps friends and check out the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. The Festival is highlighting the 50th Anniversary of the Peace Corps. Check out their website for some of the cool events planned, and if you're in the area then stop by to get a taste of the Peace Corps experience!

Second, the Peace Corps friends I am visiting just arrived from Madagascar with their Malagasy counterpart for the Santa Fe International Folk Art Festival next week. The Malagasy woman is a silk weaver who will be displaying her (and her cooperative's) wares at the festival next weekend (July 8-10). Check out her profile here and stop by the festival if you live in that area!

Also, a bit off topic, check out this brief video (animated!), which does a nice job introducing the importance of transparency in aid (see this blog post for more detail on the subject) -



Finally, this week's music video again comes from the great Jerry Marcoss. This time it is a collaboration with Farah John's, who has gotten pretty popular in her own right over the last few years. The song is called "Tsy Kivy," and it was huge last summer. Baically it is about the girl, Farah, being tired of Jerry's BS, and Jerry trying to explain himself (note the excellent dance moves of the girls listening to his explanations at 0:45). Farah then goes into the chorus "Zah tsy kivy", which basically means, "I'm not discouraged." It is a goofy and fun song to start the holiday weekend! (My favorite parts are Jerry's "Yah yahs" which means the same in Gasy as in English)...