Friends of African Village Libraries (I post regularly here)- Photos from Gowrie Kunkua community library during the night session, Ghana
- Sumbrungu Community Library nighttime reading
- Résumé du livre Une grande mère criminelle
- Organisation d’une séance de discussion autour d’un livre à la bibliothèque de Dimikuy
- Librarians of Tuy monthly meeting January 2026, Burkina Faso
- Impressions sur la production de livres CMH au Burkina Faso
- Compte rendu de la première rencontre des gérants de la zone du Tuy
- Science fiction books for libraries in Burkina Faso and Ghana
- Animation d’une séance de lecture à la bibliothèque de Dimikuy
- Nyariga Community Library in Ghana, photos January 2026
Author Archives: mkevane
Jill Lepore on Rachel Carson in The New Yorker, March 2018
A fantastic writer paying homage, so gracefully, to a writer of another generation. Lepore uncovers for the modern reader enough about Carson’s life, but mostly about her writings on the sea (as opposed to her more well-known book on DDT) … Continue reading
Posted in Book and film reviews, Development thinking, Reading
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National Bookmobile Day April 11 2018
At FAVL we are working on it thanks to generous donation from Penelope Hartnell! National Bookmobile Day celebrates our nation’s bookmobiles and the dedicated library professionals who provide this valuable and essential service to their communities every day. Each year, … Continue reading
Posted in Burkina Faso
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Camille Bordas short story “The State of Nature” in The New Yorker
I was flummoxed by Camille Bordas short story “The State of Nature” in April 9 2018 The New Yorker. It is clearly a very formal exercise. There is something about the syntax or the paragraph construction that could be understood … Continue reading
Posted in Book and film reviews
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My favorite picture of the month from FAVL library: The reading club of Barsalogho in #Burkina
Posted in Burkina Faso
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Howard French pulls no punches in review of new bad book about African history
On his very first page, James concedes that “change” driven by European imperialism generated conflict in Africa, but he never returns to dwell upon this at length. Instead, he immediately offers what seems like a pat, exculpatory defense: Europeans “believed … Continue reading
Posted in Burkina Faso
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That “Are Men Smarter at Science? They Certainly Think So” study…. don’t even bother
Young men in a biology class were somewhat more confident about how smart they were compared with young women. A sample of one class from one university, with who knows how much p-hacking and forking paths, nevertheless goes viral because … Continue reading
Posted in Burkina Faso
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Gaida Hinnawi sings Ilak Shi
Ilak Shi from Brian Wengrofsky on Vimeo.
Posted in Music
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Great summary of World Bank report on restrictions on women’s equality around the world
The Women, Business and the Law report is out, and here is a nice summary from PS magazine: A major barrier raised in the report is women’s right to work at night. Women are prevented from working the same night … Continue reading
Posted in Gender
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Is there a good way to download the coordinates of a path or route on google map into a file?
The folks at stackoverflow just dismissed this question. But is an honest and useful question to have answered, for some applications. And here is a good ttip from fentonsrule: This is something I learned on my own. If you create … Continue reading
Posted in R statistics
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Wonderful. I want to watch 2001 again now.
Wait, I thought, the broken wine glass! Or could it be a water glass? At any rate, it is one of the movie’s more famous riddles. The moment is so deliberate and messy and startling — the hotel sequence is … Continue reading
Posted in Book and film reviews
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One of my mother’s favorite songs
It seems to have been written originally by James Bland. And the Bob Dylan and The Band version is here. HT: Sue Kevane
Posted in Music, Personal Kevane life
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Conversations every family has
Thanks NYTimes and Luis Ferré-Sadurní for an honest and difficult job of reporting a universal (not just Puerto Rican) truth. I have heard the exact same conversation in Burkina Faso. “I see it as a safety issue,” Magaly said from … Continue reading
Posted in Burkina Faso
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Excellent summary of Ansaroul Islam and terrorism problem in Burkina Faso
Ansaroul Islam has carried out at least 78 attacks in northern Burkina Faso since December 2016, according to a dataset compiled from open-sources by the authors, which provides a picture of the group’s TTPs. The group’s primary targets are civilians … Continue reading
Posted in Politics
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Replacing battery in 2005 Prius
I used the Internet before, but had to replace again after 3-4 years. Same excellent explanations. Thank you, and to make your public service even more available, here are the links for future battery-replacers. I have one piece of advice … Continue reading
Posted in Personal Kevane life
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Baloji feat. Klody Ndongala – Peau de Chagrin/Bleu de Nuit
HT: @PieterRemes
Posted in Music
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Le président Roch ne reçois pas le REN-LAC? Quel avenir donc pour #Burkina?
Nous avons une demande d’audience qui a souffert et qui souffre toujours à la présidence du Faso. Depuis le 22 janvier (2018), nous avons introduit une demande d’audience pour rencontrer le président du Faso pour une interpellation que notre organisation … Continue reading
Posted in Burkina Faso
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Menaces terroristes au Nord : Inquiétude et consternation à Kaïn
Excellent article de Yann Nikièma sur lefaso.net: L’insécurité grandissante dans la zone frontalière met à rude épreuve le fonctionnement du système éducatif. Selon les statistiques de la Direction Provinciale de l’Education Préscolaire, Primaire et non formelle du Yatenga (DPEPPNF/Y), la … Continue reading
Posted in Burkina Faso
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Makala, documentary by Emmanuel Gras
Follows a charcoal maker, Kabwita, through several months of arduous physical labor. The Guardian has no idea what to make of it. Great for teaching.
Posted in Book and film reviews, Development thinking
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Recent reading…
La Tabla Esmeralda, by Carla Montero. I wanted to read a big fat novel in Spanish, and this one certainly did the trick. A rehash of Possession. Vie et ensignement de Tierno Bokar, by Amadou Hampate Ba. Tremendously interesting short … Continue reading
Posted in Book and film reviews
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Dear Etranger…. Japanese movie on Air France flight
This movie was so intimate and painful to watch finally I gave up and turned it off. Despite a career spanning nearly three decades, Yukiko Mishima hasn’t appeared on many lists of up-and-coming Japanese female directors, mine included. One reason: … Continue reading
Posted in Book and film reviews
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Michael Kevane 