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View From Arada

Jul 31 , 2021

Bye, Bye Movie Stars, Make Way for the 'Influencers'

Recently, I had a chat with a once aspiring broadcaster whose dream of being famous through his local FM radio programme fell by the wayside some time ago. I asked him how he became sure of his failur...

Jul 24 , 2021

Murphy's Law to Life in Present Day Ethiopia

Some famous sayings often express the need for pessimism. Take Murphy's Law, which states that “if anything can go wrong, it will.” A lesser-known one is Hofstadter's Law: “everything will ta...

Jul 18 , 2021

Much Meaning in Body Language, Even More in Balageru’s Dancers

Some people are creative animals. The 19th-century Norwegian philologist Ivar Aasen collected all of his country's difficult regional speech, and created a national language. Then he shaped folke-maal...

Jul 10 , 2021

Veterans of Legacy Media Pose Lessons for Foot Soldiers of Twitter

Among Portugal's few literary giants, Alberto Caeiro, Álvaro de Campos, Ricardo Reisall and Fernando Pessoa are mentioned. Yet, all the preceding three were pseudonyms of the last one. As if these ar...

Jul 3 , 2021

The Bahiru Kegnes of Today Boast Electronic Masinko

Dick Fosbury, an American high jumper, won a gold medal and broke the world record for the high jump in Mexico City during the 1968 Olympics. Medals are out there to be won, as are records to be broke...

Jun 26 , 2021

The Structure's Imposing, but What's Its Story?

Francisco Álvares, half a millennia ago, told of the tales of Lalibela's rock-hewn churches with a memorable introduction. “It wearied me to write more of these works, because it seemed to me th...

Jun 19 , 2021

Ghion Hotel, No Less the Sheraton, Inaccessible at the Height of Their Power

It was a tale told by the likes of Jonathan Swift – Henry VIII, a 16th century British monarch, being so pleased with the luscious slice of pink meat served to him, unsheathed his sword, laid it on...

Jun 12 , 2021

Rote Learning, Don't Completely Knock It

In a letter, the 19th-century writer Nathaniel Hawthorne wanted to clarify that beauty was not what he had in mind. “I am glad you think my style plain. I never, in one page or paragraph, aimed a...

Jun 5 , 2021

Gold Glitters, Miners Sweat, Bleed

It was a life-changing experience when I headed to a large scale gold mine in the Oromia Regional state, Gujji Woreda. Amongst the people that went with me, only the driver of the old land cruiser had...

May 29 , 2021

Artisans Were the Past. They Also Make Up Part of the Future

There was a wood workshop in the vicinity of my house, initially cramped in a building whose construction was stalled. Owned and run by a young man, his employees have always been handy in helping me...

May 23 , 2021

From Local Concoctions, There's Much to Learn

Just a week ago, a grand-motherly figure in her eighties knocked on my door. As I opened, she closed her mouth with her netela, a handmade cloth, as a substitute for a face mask, and asked me if I had...

May 15 , 2021

Swinging Era Swings Less: Dusk of Éthiopiques

George Jones, a British actor from the 19th century, portrayed the legendary fictional figure Hamlet, the Danish prince in William Shakespear's play of the same name, in theatre. He was completely imm...

May 8 , 2021

Grammar Shall Set Students Free

It was a week or so ago. I was reading the quirky 17th-century British poet John Taylor's rollicking poems. The poet, with little understanding of English grammar as it translates to the 21st century...

Apr 30 , 2021

The Viruses that Come Back to Haunt Society

The waste collection spot in our neighbourhood, which is on my usual route, is looking different these days. The frequency with which the waste is picked has improved over the years. The owner of the...

Apr 24 , 2021

Technology Deserves Museums Too

Nothing feels the same as it is does for the first time. It was as I was contemplating going to an exhibition and workshop on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Addis Abeba, which opened on April 15, 20...

Apr 17 , 2021

The Unsung Heroes of Ethiopia's Literature, the Editors

Edgar Allan Poe was quoted in 1845 saying that the enormous multiplication of books in every branch of knowledge is one of the greatest evils of this age. It was because he believed this would present...

Columns

Commentaries | Jul 18,2026

Millions Looking for Work. Companies Cannot Find Many to Hire. A Paradox?

Pressed in Parliament on jobs and household incomes, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) offer...

Editorial | Jul 18 , 2026

EL NINO MEETS A REGION EMPTIED BY WAR

Weldu Yiheysh, a farmer in Shibta District of Enderta Wereda in the Southeast Zone, was st...

Featured | Jul 19 , 2026 . By GEBRU KAHSAY and WORKINEH DIRIBSA

A Sack of Cement, with the Chain No One Can See

In the Jemo area of Addis Abeba, Fikremariam Wondimu no longer trades cement so much as ga...

Agenda | Jul 19 , 2026 . By FITSUM TADESSE

Adverse Opinions Pile Up as Addis Abeba’s Budget Hits a Record

Bureaus, agencies and institutions under the Addis Abeba City Administration are sitting o...

Fortune News | Jul 19 , 2026 . By BEZAWIT HULUAGER